ABSTRACT

People nowadays are more vulnerable to a variety of health problems. People who have urinary incontinence (leakage), urinary retention (inability to urinate), surgery that necessitated the use of a catheter, or another medical condition that necessitates the use of urine bags. Patients who use urine bags in this situation are unaware of the level indication. Bedridden individuals' pee bags should be replaced every four hours. People who do not change their pee bags once the level of filling has reached a certain point are more susceptible to bacterial infections, which can lead to extra health problems. In the suggested module, the process of indicating a patient's urine level is designed, which will signal the filling of the leg bag with urine to prevent overflow and backflow. The device uses a load cell and a buzzer to indicate a higher urine level in leg bags based on the weight of the bag. The arduino serves as an interfacing device, connecting to the load cell and displaying the pee bag's weight in the system. The proposed system reduces hospital nurses and carers physical labour. The key benefit of this technology is that it is both cost effective and environmentally friendly. This device can be upgraded in the future by adding IoT-based modifications and Bluetooth modules for contacting purposes.

INTRODUCTION

         In the intensive care unit (lCU) of a hospital, measurement and monitoring of vital signs of patients is paramount importance. But urine output, a critical parameter, is manually registered by a nurse or a caregiver. Urine output is monitored by measuring the amount of urine collected in a graduated urine bag that is attached to a urinary catheter which is inserted into the patient's urethra. The amount of urine output measured depends on the accuracy of the observer's vision and is susceptible to visual errors such as parallax. Urine output is a significant parameter when it comes to maintaining fluid balance in the body.  The proposed device uses a gravimetric method of measurement of urine output by measuring the weight of urine present in the bag with the help of a load cell. The measured weight is converted into a corresponding value of urine output. The device consists of an enclosure that is attached to the rails of a patient's bed inside the hospital. A urine bag is hung on the device by means of a hook. A urinary catheter that is inserted into the patient's urinary bladder drains into the urine bag. The weight of the amount of urine present in the bag is measured and this measurement is converted to a corresponding volume of urine out.

Hardware description

 Load cell

              A load cell is a transducer which converts force into a measurable electrical output. Although there are many varieties of load cells, strain gage based load cells are the common method Except for certain laboratories where precision mechanical balances are still used, strain gage load cells dominate the weighing industry. Pneumatic load cells are sometimes used where intrinsic safety and hygiene are desired, and hydraulic load cells are considered in remote locations, as they do not require a power supply. Strain gage load cells offer accuracies from within 0.03% to 0.25% full scale and are suitable for almost all industrial applications

   Fig:1 load cell

                Source: https://images.app.goo.gl/xVq9hshto6nD4cJB7

HX711 Amplifier

       Load Cell Amplifier is a small breakout board for the HX711 IC that allows you to easily read load cells to measure weight. By connecting the amplifier to your microcontroller to read the changes in the resistance of the load cell, and with some calibration accurate weight measurements. This can be handy for creating your own industrial scale, process control or simple presence detection.       

     Fig:2 HX711 Amplifier

 Source: https://images.app.goo.gl/KHuVZaCVXLLCgxQu9

4.1.3 Arduino

        Arduino is an open-source electronics platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software. Arduino boards are able to read inputs - light on a sensor, a finger on a button, or a Twitter message - and turn it into an output - activating a motor, turning on an LED, publishing something online.           

Fig:3 Arduino

Source: https://images.app.goo.gl/4AD3amwHvE2NqJsU9

 SOFTWARE DESCRIPTION

Arduino IDE

               The Arduino Integrated Development Environment - or Arduino Software (IDE) - contains a text editor for writing code, a message area, a text console, a toolbar with buttons for common functions and a series of menus. It connects to the Arduino hardware to upload programs and communicate with them.

Fig 4: Software calibration

DEMONSTRATION VIDEO