Autonomous sensors to detect UTI at early stage developed at Purdue.

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Urinary Tract Infection now can be diagnosed at early stage with an autonomous sensor developed by researchers at Purdue University.

“Current testing relies on time-consuming and costly urine culture tests performed at medical facilities and on at-home testing using store-purchased dipsticks that generally have high false alarm rates,” says Babak Ziaie, professor of electrical and computer engineering in Purdue’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “Additionally, collecting urine samples for these methods can be challenging for infants and geriatric patients who suffer from neurodegenerative diseases. There’s also a privacy and dignity issue.”

UTI are common at extremes of age and is associated with significant morbidity and long-term medical consequences. In fact, they are most common infections in older adults specially in institutional settings. A woman’s lifetime risk for being diagnosed with UTI is more than 50%.

The researchers have developed bandage size disposable sensor, that is operated by battery which is activated after coming in contact with urine. The sensors detect nitrites, the chemical compound formed in UTI, and wirelessly sends the result to a smartphone app that keeps the data log and sends the results to the patient, caregiver, and/or health-care network if required.

The sensor can be easily embedded in the diaper.

“Ours is the only one that works fully autonomously,” Ziaie said. “Conventional methods require a certain level of patient or caregiver intervention.” This will be especially useful in infants and older adults who are not aware of symptoms or who do not have the ability to report the symptoms.

Work is now shifting to sizing, packaging, diaper embedding methods, smartphone app details and other efforts to prepare the technology for commercialization. A pilot study also is planned.

Several patents are already pending on this prototype but, this is the only one which is autonomous.  

“Once you detect a urinary tract infection in its early stage, it’s very easy to cure,” said team member Byunghoo Jung, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “You just need an antibiotic. Early detection is the key.”

Source: Purdue Research Foundation