US 12,471,884 B2
Bladder monitoring device and method using ultrasonic sensor
Sungwon Lee, Dangjin-si (KR); Younghwii Ko, Daegu (KR); and Yeonghun Yun, Incheon (KR)
Assigned to DAEGU GYEONGBUK INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Daegu (KR); and RESEARCH COOPERATION FOUNDATIONOF YEUNGNAMUNIVERSITY, Gyeongsan-si (KR)
Appl. No. 17/603,079
Filed by DAEGU GYEONGBUK INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Daegu (KR); and RESEARCH COOPERATION FOUNDATION OF YEUNGNAM UNIVERSITY, Gyeongsan-si (KR)
PCT Filed Apr. 14, 2020, PCT No. PCT/KR2020/005002
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Oct. 12, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/235810, PCT Pub. Date Nov. 26, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 10-2019-0059309 (KR), filed on May 21, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0183660 A1, Jun. 16, 2022
Int. Cl. A61B 8/00 (2006.01); A61B 8/08 (2006.01)
CPC A61B 8/48 (2013.01) [A61B 8/0833 (2013.01); A61B 8/5207 (2013.01)] 7 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A bladder monitoring method by a bladder monitoring apparatus configured to be detachably attached to a user's skin adjacent to a user's bladder and including an ultrasonic sensor, the method comprising:
an ultrasonic wave transmission operation of transmitting, by the ultrasonic sensor, an ultrasonic wave toward a front wall of the bladder;
an ultrasonic wave reception operation of receiving the ultrasonic wave returning after reflection, by the front wall of the bladder, of the ultrasonic wave transmitted toward the front wall of the bladder in the ultrasonic wave transmission operation, and generating a passage time interval relating to the ultrasonic wave;
an apparatus control operation of calculating only a front wall distance from the passage time interval and a speed of the ultrasonic wave, the front wall distance being a distance from the ultrasonic sensor to the front wall of the bladder wall distance and configuration information input from an outside of the bladder monitoring apparatus; and
wherein the apparatus control operation further comprises:
a configuration information input operation of receiving the configuration information,
the configuration information comprising:
a bladder volume limit indicating the bladder volume of a time point at which the bladder is filled with a designated volume of urine;
a front wall distance limit indicating a distance from the ultrasonic sensor to the front wall of the bladder in a state of the bladder volume limit; and
a front wall to rear wall distance limit indicating a distance from the front wall of the bladder to a rear wall of the bladder in a state of the bladder volume limit;
a reference calculation operation of calculating a distance ratio information indicating a ratio between the front wall distance limit and the front wall to rear wall distance limit, from the configuration information;
a volume calculation operation of calculating a front wall to rear wall distance by multiplying the front wall distance by the distance ratio information, the front wall to rear wall distance being a distance from the front wall of the bladder to the rear wall of the bladder, calculating the bladder volume based on the front wall to rear wall distance; and
a volume output operation of outputting the bladder volume calculated in the apparatus control operation.