Usability and Accuracy of a Novel Automatic Bladder Diary Device (Uro-diary Checker)

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Medical Devices
• Patient Monitoring

Background:

• Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) evaluation relies on accurate voiding pattern data.
• Conventional handwritten bladder diaries (BD) can suffer from poor adherence and subjective reporting.
• Automated devices offer potential for improved data collection accuracy and patient compliance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the usability and accuracy of the novel automated Uro-diary Checker (UDC) compared to traditional handwritten BD.
• To determine if the UDC enhances patient adherence and efficiency in LUTS assessment.

Main Methods:

• A prospective, multi-institutional observational study involved 40 patients with LUTS.
• Participants used both a handwritten BD and the UDC for 3 days each.
• Usability was measured using the System Usability Scale (SUS); accuracy was compared for urine volume measurements.

Main Results:

• The UDC achieved a significantly higher SUS score (72.9) than the handwritten BD (60.6), indicating superior usability (p<0.01).
• UDC urine volume measurements showed high consistency with BD data for 24-h urine volume (r=0.86) and average voided volume (r=0.77).
• 31 patients completed the study, with a mean age of 72.6 years.

Conclusions:

• The Uro-diary Checker (UDC) demonstrates significantly better usability than conventional handwritten bladder diaries (BD).
• The UDC provides accurate urine volume measurements comparable to traditional methods.
• The UDC shows promise for improving adherence and efficiency in the evaluation of LUTS.