Sensor device and an analyzing device specifically adapted to be used in conjunction with diapers for incontinent patients

• US 6,573,837 B2
• Filed: 10/18/2001
• Issued: 06/03/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/13/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Yves Bluteau
• Original Assignee: Yves Bluteau
• Inventors: Bluteau, Yves
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu, Daniel J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Phung
• Application Number:
  US09/981,699
• Publication Number:
  US 20030011479A1
• Time in Patent Office: 593 Days
• Field of Search: 340/604, 340/573.5, 340/605, 340/603
• US Class Current: 340/604
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 13/42 with wetness indicator or alarm

Abstract

Sensor device and an analyzing device specifically adapted to be used in conjunction with diapers for incontinent patients, is adapted to transmit the sensed data to a remote analyzing system, the monitoring can be performed with the patient in various situations and positions, the sensor is adapted to be coupled to a computer system which can monitor and analyse the various data so as to manipulate the information and extract various types of valuable data, the sensor is adapted to sense both variations in moisture and in temperature as well as other physiological data such as the glucose level of the urine from the patient, or other biochemical data emanating from the patient.

Claims

1. A sensor device and an analyzing device adapted to be used in conjunction with conventional diapers for incontinent patients, detecting the presence of urine or fecal matter, and other physiological or biochemical data emanating from the patient, wherein said sensor device comprises a sensing strip, a transmitting component and a releasable locking means:

(a) the sensing strip is made of a set of juxtaposed elongated and relatively thin metallic strips, wherein the connecting clips are positioned in an overlapping configuration at one terminal end of said metallic strips, and said connecting clips are adapted to act as transmitting contacts for transmitting the electrical data emanating from said metallic strips to said transmitting component;

(b) the metallic strips me preferably coated with an adhesive material or covered by an adhesive strip, the adhesive material or strip covering said metallic strips is itself covered by a protective strip of material releasably secured to said metallic strips, wherein said strip of material is adapted to act as a peal-off protective strip allowing to said sensing strip to be conveniently stored and carried when in place and once removed allowing to said metallic strips to be adhesively and releasably secured to the interior surface of the diaper, a set of coupling apertures extends through said metallic strips adjacent one of the longitudinal ends of said sensing strip, and said coupling apertures are adapted to be used to connect said sensing strip to said metallic strips;

(c) the transmitting component has generally a parallelepiped-shaped general configuration comprising a first panel hingely connected to a second panel by a hinge component, wherein said second panel is provided with a strip receiving recess formed therein, a set of connecting prongs extends integrally from said hinge component and said prongs are adapted to be slidably inserted into said coupling apertures of said sensing strip in order to facilitate the proper alignment of the terminal end of said sensing strip inside said binge component, a set of contact prongs is embedded in said second panel and extends into said hinge component and said contact prongs are positioned so as to be in register with said connecting clips of said sensing strip, wherein each said connecting clip is adapted to be put in contact with said corresponding contact prong when the terminal end of said sensing strip is positioned inside said hinge component, and wherein said connecting clips are adapted to transmit the electrical data signal from said sensing strip to said contact prongs;

(d) the contact prongs are electrically coupled to a surface mount microchip embedded in said first panel by a set of connecting wires, a battery source constituted of a set of lithium flat cells is enclosed in said first panel, the distal peripheral edges of both the second panel and the first panel are provided with a set of gripping teeth, wherein said gripping teeth are adapted to cooperate for fixing said transmitting component to said peripheral edge of the diaper when said first panel and said second panel are pivoted towards one another, and a set of resilient gripping tongues extends from said second panel, a corresponding pair of tongue receiving slots is formed in said first panel, and said gripping tongues are adapted to be snappingly inserted into said tongue receiving slots in order to releasably secure said transmitting component in an overriding relationship over said peripheral edge of the diaper;

(e) a releasable locking means is adapted to be used for locking said transmitting component to the diaper in order to prevent the unwanted removal of said transmitting component from the diaper when the patient is demential or otherwise uncooperative, and said locking means can take various conventional forms including an electromagnetic look or a mechanical lock;

(f) the surface microchip includes a microprocessor adapted to analyze the various electrical data emanating from said metallic strips in the form of current or potential variation between the various metallic alloys from which said metallic strips are made, and said microchip allows to compute and store the data emanating from said sensing strip, the time of day at which the diaper was soiled by biological fluids, and to analyze the biochemical properties of the biochemical fluids that are put into contact with said metallic strips in order to determine the sugar level in the urine of the diabetic patients; and

(g) the data emanating from said metallic strips and sent to said microchip is adapted to be transmitted to a receiver, said data sent by said transmitter to said receiver being one of various forms including a numeric form and being sent by one of radiowaves, microwaves or any other suitable medium, and wherein said receiver is adapted to be connected to a central computer system.

2. The sensor device, according to claim 1, wherein said data emanating from said sensor device are stored by said central computer system for a number of patients, a cyclic pattern for each patient and each department is elaborated taking into account the record of diaper soiling collected by said various sensor devices for various patients, for a given patient, the collection of data leads to the establishment of a time pattern at which a given patient wets the diaper, and this information can prove to be very valuable for the personnel allowing the latter to attend to a given patient recording to the predicted time of need.

3. The sensor device according to claim 1, wherein said sensor devices are used in order to monitor the time period between the soiling of the diaper and the changing of the latter by the personnel in order to evaluate the efficiency of the personnel, the data allows to optimize the work of the personnel by grouping patients according to their estimate time of need, the biological data comprising the temperature of the patient, the loss of weight the biochemical contents of the urine or fecal matter, or any suitable data are monitored by using said sensor device.