Title: Device for receiving and controlling voided urine
Abstract: Indicators (4) are provided on one side of an indicator carrier (5) for controlling urine which has been caught in a measuring cell (1). The indicators can be perceived through a window (3). The measuring cell (1) is provided with an inlet on the side opposite the window (3). The aim of the invention is to guide urine from the inlet (6) to the indicators 94). To this end, the inventive device has a fluid transport means (9), e.g., blotting paper, which can transport fluid by virtue of the capillarity thereof. A soaking material, e.g., a soaking cushion, can be arranged between the inlet (6) and the indicator carrier (5). Said cushion becomes soaked and locks the inlet (6) when catching urine.
Patent Number: 6,981,951 Issued on 01/03/2006 to Rahe
| Inventors:
|
Rahe; Martin (Drosselweg 67, D032609, Huellhorst, DE)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
936571 |
| Filed:
|
February 3, 2000 |
| PCT Filed:
|
February 3, 2000
|
| PCT NO:
|
PCT/DE00/00334
|
| 371 Date:
|
September 14, 2001
|
| 102(e) Date:
|
September 14, 2001
|
| PCT PUB.NO.:
|
WO00/45705 |
| PCT PUB. Date:
|
August 10, 2000 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
| Feb 04, 1999[DE] | 199 04 556 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
600/584 |
| Current Intern'l Class: |
A61B 5/00 (20060101) |
| Field of Search: |
600/573,574,575,584
604/317,318
|
References Cited [Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
| 3175553 | Mar., 1965 | Mattson.
| |
| 4827944 | May., 1989 | Nugent.
| |
| 5042502 | Aug., 1991 | Guirguis.
| |
| 5487393 | Jan., 1996 | Haswell et al.
| |
| Foreign Patent Documents |
| 0438482 | Jul., 1991 | EP.
| |
| 0560099 | Sep., 1993 | EP.
| |
Primary Examiner: Hindenburg; Max F.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Milde & Hoffberg, LLP
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. In a device for the absorption and the examination of voided urine, in the
form of a measuring cell, which comprises at least one inflow opening, a plurality
of indicators arranged on an indicator holder and at least one viewing window creating
a transparent area, through which the indicators can be seen, wherein the indicators
are arranged on a side bordering the viewing window of an indicator holder, and
wherein a liquid transporting means, suitable for the transport of liquids due
to its capillary action, extends from the inflow opening to the indicator holder
and is connected with at least one area of one indicator wherein the improvement comprises:
the liquid transporting means wraps the indicator holder and is connected with
an area of each indicator on the side bordering the viewing window.
2. The device according to claim 1, wherein a swelling material is placed between
the indicator holder and the inflow opening.
3. The device according to claim 2, wherein the swelling material is a swelling
cushion made of swelling foil.
4. The device according to claim 3, wherein the swelling cushion is lined with
a film and the film is provided with an inflow opening, and wherein the inflow
openings, the measuring cell and the swelling cushion are placed directly one behind
the other.
5. The device according to claim 1, wherein the liquid transporting means reaches
the area of the inflow opening.
6. The device according to claim 1, wherein the liquid transporting means wraps
around the back side of the indicator holder.
7. The device according to claim 2, wherein the liquid transporting means is
part of the swelling material.
8. The device according to claim 1, wherein the liquid transporting means is
foil paper.
9. The device according to claim 1, wherein the liquid transporting means is
a material made of non-cellulose material.
10. The device according to claim 1, wherein the liquid transporting means is
impregnated with indoxylester to improve the detection of the leukocyte quantity
pro volume, such that due to the higher concentration of indoxylester, more indoxyl
is released with a consequent darker and qualitatively more meaningful coloration
of the indicators.
11. The device according to claim 1, wherein the liquid transporting means is
prepared with substances which positively affect a reaction process of the indicators
with regard to color stabilization and sensitivity.
12. The device according to claim 1, further comprising conveying bands of different
width arranged on the liquid transporting means to control the quantity of the
urine in such a way that the various indicators can receive a quantity of test
liquid necessary to ensure perfect functionality.
13. The device according to claim 1, wherein the measuring cell is made of PP-foil.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention concerns a device for receiving and examining voided urine and,
in particular, urine uncontrollably voided.
A device of this type is already known from the European Patent No. EP 0 560
099
A2. This refers to a coating which wraps and, sometimes, defines the inner space
of the device. This coating has at least one passage to let the liquid being examined,
urine, flow into the inner part of the device for a pre-determined period of time.
Moreover, a device to absorb the liquid, urine, into the inner part of the device
as well as a means to stop the flow of the liquid is provided. The composition
of the liquid to be examined is determined by means of suitable indicating cards
(check-up cards). Because of the limited construction of these cards, their use
implies a disadvantage as far as the related reading of the results is concerned,
seeing that they cannot be seen from the side of the device bordering with the
liquid to be examined.
The European Patent No. EP 0 438 482 B1 also describes a similar device for the
absorption and examination of, in this case, uncontrollably voided urine; the device
consists of a small measuring cell in the form of an "examination card", which
is placed inside a transparent collecting bag, into which the urine flows by means
of an inlet tube. The examination card is provided with indicators, to which urine
is exposed, to examine the urine collected in terms of developing and existing
pathogen infections, which, for example, correspond to the pH, nitrite, leukocyte
and electolyte values in the urine. The examination card is covered by a membrane,
on the side exposed to the urine, which slows down the urines absorption, causing
the urine to penetrate the indicators in a slower manner thus preventing incorrect
measurements by reading the high pathogenic concentrations of the urine initially
absorbed between the membrane and the indicators. Another swelling material is
located which swells after the urine flows into the measuring cell and, by pushing
against the membrane, causes the membrane to close after a set period of time.
This action counteracts the flushing out of the indicating substances.
In this known measuring cell, the indicators can be observed by means of a transparent
external film, acting as a viewing window on the side lying opposite the membrane,
because, on the other side, the indicators are covered by the swelling material.
This material must lie directly at the rear side of the indicators, so that these
can be slowly soaked with urine from the back until a color transfer takes place,
which can be seen from the viewing window.
Very good indicators for this known device are available commercially which,
due to manufacturing and technical reasons and because of their otherwise different
use (as for example direct moisturising with urine to identify disease) are used
on synthetic strips that are at least lightly opaque and almost white. When these
indicators are used in the known device, they must be placed with their upper surface
lying against the swelling material, so that the color transfer can be detected
by means of the synthetic strips. However, given the minimal transparency of the
material of which the strips are made, the color transfer can not be clearly determined
and, in particular, the intensity of the color transfer is difficult to perceive.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of this invention is to improve a known device so that the detection
of the color transfer in the indicators and the reliability of the resulting interpretation
can be improved in order to allow a clear and reliable determination of the urines
composition. Moreover, it must be possible to adjust the device to different fields
of application.
This object is achieved, in accordance with the present invention, by providing
a device of the type described above having at least one viewing window to which
the indicators can be seen, wherein the indicators are arranged on a side bordering
the viewing window of an indicator holder, and wherein a liquid transporting means
suitable for the transport of liquids due to its capillary action, wraps the indicator
holder at the end of the inflow opening and is connected with at least one area
of one indicator on one side bordering the viewing window.
Thus, this invention proposes the use of standard indicators arranged on a
non-transparent holder and which can be seen through a viewing window in the measuring
cell. In order to get the urine from the inflow opening, located on the side opposite
the measuring cell, into the indicators, a liquid transporting means is used—foil
paper—which, thanks to its capillaries, is suitable for the transport of liquids.
As in the known measuring cell, a swelling material can also be used in this
case—a
swelling fleece—, which is arranged between the indicator holder and the
inflow opening and which swells as a result of the urines absorption and which
closes the inflow opening of the measuring cell after a few minutes.
Within the framework of another variation of the device according to the invention,
which is used especially in incontinence absorbing means (diapers), a separate
swelling cushion is not used and the indicator holder is wrapped with foil paper
or a similar capillary material. Here the seal of the system is of secondary importance.
In this case, the foil paper first allows the penetration of the liquid into the
measuring cell and then, because of the small inflow openings used, the air pressure
inside the measuring cell prevents the liquid from penetrating.
The quantity of leukocytes pro volume is determined as follows: The indicators
contain indoxylester, which is cleft by means of granulocyte-esterase. It is subsequently
possible to determine the quantity of leukocytes pro volume through the granulocyte-esterase
concentration. The split product released, indoxyl, reacts with the diosonium salt
in the indicators by producing a purple pigment. The color transfer can range between
beige and purple, depending on the concentration.
In order to improve the detection of the leukocyte quantity, especially in case
of a very small leukocyte concentration, within the framework of the invention,
it is proposed to impregnate the used foil paper with indoxylester, in addition
to the indicators. In this way more indoxyl is released and a darker hue is obtained
due to the higher concentration of indoxylester because of the granulocyte-esterase.
A darker color transfer is qualitatively more meaningful and much more stable than
a lighter one because the detection is qualitatively improved.
In order to improve the reliability of the system even more, it is also proposed
to adopt a more permeable foil paper to prevent the foil paper from retaining the
relatively high quantity of leukocytes. The foil paper can be made more permeable
by giving it grooves.
It is also proposed to prepare the foil paper with substances which can positively
affect the reaction process of the indicators regarding color stabilization, sensitivity,
and the foil's features. This prevents changes to the indicators contained in the
measuring cell, after a long time (15-20 minutes). In this context, an indicator
strip can be replaced with a specifically prepared paper or an additional soaked
paper can be integrated into the test strips.
In order to function better, the different indicators need high quantities of
test liquid. It is, therefore, proposed to design the conveying band for the test
liquid with various widths, in order to control the quantity of the test liquid.
For a full understanding of the present invention, reference should now be made
to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention
as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a first embodiment of the device according
to the invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a second embodiment of the device according
to the invention.
FIG. 3 is a depiction of the foil paper back side according to a preferred embodiment
of the invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with
reference to FIGS. 1-3 of the drawings. Identical elements in the various figures
are designated with the same reference numerals.
In FIG. 1, the device for the absorption and the examination of uncontrollably
voided urine includes a closed and flat measuring cell
1 preferably made
of PP-foil with a rear supporting foil
2 and a front see-through foil creating
a transparent area, which works as a viewing window
3. Behind the viewing
window
3, the indicators
4 are arranged on an indicator holder
5.
One single 1 millimeter wide inflow opening
8 is located on the back support foil.
Moreover, a swelling material in the measuring cell
1 is preferably
fitted with a swelling cushion
7, which is lined with a foil
7a
and fitted with one single 1 millimeter wide inflow opening
6. The inflow
openings
6 and
8 are located one directly behind the other.
A liquid transporting means
9, which in this implementation is a foil
paper
sheet suitable for the transport of liquids due to its capillary action, surrounds
the swelling cushion
7, the indicator holder
5 and the indicators
4, in which one edge of the foil paper lies next to the inflow openings
6,
8 and the other edge covers an edge area of all the indicators.
The device works as follows: Through the inflow openings
6,
8,
the urine reaches the swelling cushion
7, which swells as a result. In the
middle of the capillary foil paper used as the liquid transporting means
9,
a small amount of urine is simultaneously absorbed which is transported around
the swelling cushion
7 and the transparent indicator holder
5 to
the indicators
4. The volume of the swelling cushion
7 increases
with the swelling process and, as a result, the measuring cell closes after a few
minutes. The capillary foil paper used as a liquid transporting means
9
can obviously be replaced by another means, for example a wick or a suitable liquid
transport means not made of cellulose material.
FIG. 2 shows another variation of the invention, which should be used especially
with absorbing incontinence means (diapers). In this case, unlike the implementation
described at the beginning, no separate swelling cushion is used because the sealing
of the system, in this case, is of secondary importance. The foil paper stretches
over another area and wraps the whole rear side of the indicator holder
5.
This implementation has a very short reaction time and the indicators need only
a small quantity of urine. As a variation to this implementation example embodiment,
a swelling cushion can also be used which wraps around the indicator holder and
is connected to an edge area of the indicator. In this way the swelling cushion
and the liquid transport means are the same thing.
According to the invention, both implementations described can improve
the detection of the leukocyte quantity, especially in case of a very small concentration
of leukocytes, by using foil paper impregnated with indoxylester. As described
at the beginning, the higher concentration of indoxylester causes more indoxyl
to be released with a consequent darker and qualitatively more meaningful coloration.
The application of the principle that the foil paper should be prepared with
substances which can positively affect the reaction process of the indicators with
regard to color stabilization, sensitivity, the features of the foil, can be achieved
within the framework of another variation of the invention.
According to FIG. 3, the foil strips
10 of the liquid transporting
means
9 have been designed with different widths in order to control the
quantity of the test liquid, given that, to ensure better functionality, the various
indicators need different quantities of test liquid. For example, the right foil
strip is wider than the other two in order to ensure a higher level of reliability
and more transparency.
There has thus been shown and described a novel device for receiving and controlling
voided urine which fulfills all the objects and advantages sought therefor. Many
changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications of the subject
invention will, however, become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering
this specification and the accompanying drawings which disclose the preferred embodiments
thereof. All such changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications
which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be
covered by the invention, which is to be limited only by the claims which follow.
*
