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EP-4736764-A2 - ASSESSING URINARY AND PELVIC-FLOOR FUNCTION

EP4736764A2EP 4736764 A2EP4736764 A2EP 4736764A2EP-4736764-A2

Abstract

Apparatus and methods are described, including one or more sensors (76) configured to sense a flow of urine from a subject's body, without contacting the subject's body, during a urination of the subject as the subject pauses the urination. A processor (44, 96) computes one or more parameters of the pause based on the sensing, and outputs a score based on the parameters. Other applications are also described.

Inventors

  • KAPP-BARNEA, YAARA

Assignees

  • Outsense Diagnostics Ltd.

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20251021

Claims (15)

  1. A system, comprising: one or more sensors (76) configured to sense a flow of urine from a body of a subject, without contacting the body of the subject, during a urination of the subject as the subject pauses the urination; and a processor (44, 96), configured to: compute one or more parameters of the pause based on the sensing, and output a score based on the parameters.
  2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the processor (44, 96) is further configured to prompt the subject to pause the urination.
  3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the sensors (76) comprise a microphone (40) configured to sense a sound of the flow, and/or an imaging sensor (42) configured to image the flow.
  4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the urine flows into a toilet bowl (23), and wherein the sensors (76) are configured to couple to the toilet bowl.
  5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the processor (44, 96) is further configured to: receive an input indicating a measure of incontinence of the subject, and compute the score based on the measure of incontinence.
  6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the parameters include a duration required for a rate of the flow to decrease below a predefined threshold, a rate of the flow prior to the subject pausing the urination, a duration during which a rate of the flow is less than a predefined threshold.
  7. The system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the parameters quantifies a leakage of the urine during the pause.
  8. The system according to any one of claims 1-7, wherein the parameters include an estimated force exerted by a pelvic floor of the subject in pausing the flow.
  9. The system according to claim 8, wherein the processor (44, 96) is configured to compute the estimated force by: computing an estimated pressure applied, by the urine, to an external urethral sphincter of the subject, computing an estimated diameter of a urethra of the subject at the external urethral sphincter, and computing the estimated force based on the estimated pressure and the estimated diameter.
  10. The system according to claim 9, wherein the processor (44, 96) is configured to compute the estimated diameter of the urethra at the external urethral sphincter by: based on the sensing, computing an estimated diameter of the urethra at an external boundary of the urethra, and computing the estimated diameter of the urethra at the external urethral sphincter based on the estimated diameter of the urethra at the external boundary of the urethra.
  11. A method, comprising: using one or more sensors (76) that do not contact a body of a subject, sensing a flow of urine from the body of the subject, during a urination of the subject, as the subject pauses the urination; and using a processor (44, 96): based on the sensing, computing one or more parameters of the pause, and outputting a score based on the parameters.
  12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising: receiving, by the processor (44, 96), an input indicating a measure of incontinence of the subject; and computing the score based on the measure of incontinence.
  13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the parameters include a duration required for a rate of the flow to decrease below a predefined threshold, a rate of the flow prior to the subject pausing the urination, and/or a duration during which a rate of the flow is less than a predefined threshold.
  14. The method according to claim 11, wherein at least one of the parameters quantifies a leakage of the urine during the pause.
  15. The method according to any one of claims 11-14, wherein the parameters include an estimated force exerted by a pelvic floor of the subject in pausing the flow.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/713,852 to Kapp-Barnea, filed October 30, 2024, entitled "Assessing Urinary and Pelvic-Floor Function," which is incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD Embodiments relate generally to medical devices, and specifically to devices and methods for assessing urinary-system and pelvic-floor function, e.g., to facilitate improving such function by appropriate exercise. BACKGROUND The urinary system includes the bladder, the urethra, and other organs. The bladder wall includes the detrusor muscle, which is continuous with the internal urethral sphincter. Both the detrusor muscle and the internal urethral sphincter are involuntary muscles. The pelvic floor muscles, which include voluntary muscles such as the external urethral sphincter, support the pelvic organs and maintain continence. The pelvic floor muscles can be damaged or weakened due to injury, excessive weight gain, or, for women, life events such as hormonal changes, pregnancy, and vaginal delivery. This can lead to incontinence, constipation, genital prolapse, and other symptoms having a negative impact on quality of life. SUMMARY Embodiments provide a system for computing a urination-related score. The system includes one or more sensors configured to sense a flow of urine from a subject during a urination of the subject, and a processor configured to compute the score based on the sensing performed by the sensors. The sensors do not contact the body of the subject; for example, in some embodiments, the sensors include a microphone and/or an imaging sensor mounted to the rim of the toilet bowl. In some embodiments, the subject pauses the urination, e.g., in response to being prompted to do so via a smartphone application, and the sensors sense the flow of urine as the subject pauses the urination. Based on the sensing, the processor computes one or more parameters of the pause such as the duration required for the flow rate of the urine to decrease below a predefined threshold, a parameter quantifying a leakage of urine during the pause, the duration during which the flow rate is less than a predefined threshold, and/or an estimated force exerted by the subject's pelvic floor in pausing the flow. The processor then outputs a score, which in some embodiments indicates how well the subject's pelvic-floor muscles are functioning, based on the parameters. In some embodiments, the subject does not necessarily pause the urination. Rather, the processor computes one or more parameters of the urination based on the sensing, and based on the parameters, outputs a score indicating the function of at least one involuntary muscle of the subject, such as the subject's detrusor muscle and/or internal urethral sphincter. For example, in some embodiments, the parameters include the delay between the arrival of the subject at the toilet and the start of the urination (a measure of urination hesitancy), the rate of increase of the flow rate at the start of the urination, and/or the duration during which the flow rate is close to its maximum. There is therefore provided, in accordance with some embodiments, a system including one or more sensors configured to sense a flow of urine from a body of a subject, without contacting the body of the subject, during a urination of the subject as the subject pauses the urination, and a processor. The processor is configured to compute one or more parameters of the pause based on the sensing, and to output a score based on the parameters. In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to prompt the subject to pause the urination. In some embodiments, the sensors include a microphone configured to sense a sound of the flow. In some embodiments, the sensors include an imaging sensor configured to image the flow. In some embodiments, the urine flows into a toilet bowl, and the sensors are configured to couple to the toilet bowl. In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to: receive an input indicating a measure of incontinence of the subject, andcompute the score based on the measure of incontinence. In some embodiments, the parameters include a duration required for a rate of the flow to decrease below a predefined threshold. In some embodiments, the parameters include a rate of the flow prior to the subject pausing the urination. In some embodiments, at least one of the parameters quantifies a leakage of the urine during the pause. In some embodiments, the parameters include a duration during which a rate of the flow is less than a predefined threshold. In some embodiments, the parameters include an estimated force exerted by a pelvic floor of the subject in pausing the flow. In some embodiments, the processor is configured to compute the estimated force by: computing an estimated pressure applied, by the urine, to an external urethral sphincter of the subject,computing an