Facilitating sampling for medical diagnostics

Medical diagnoses through urine sampling are common, but for older people, giving a urine sample can be challenging and they may need help, especially if they have physical limitations, dementia, and/or suffer from incontinence.

Collection of a urine sample can be time-consuming, and caregivers may not always be able to wait with the person for that long, especially in outpatient settings. In this project, we are therefore developing a prototype of a portable product for men and women to collect urine samples that will relieve both the elderly and the caregivers. 

By developing this prototype, the nine-month Ucollect project was able to provide proof of concept, i.e. the feasibility in principle of a portable urine collector (Ucollector). In order to achieve the greatest possible acceptance among the users, the elderly persons concerned and the caregivers, they were involved in the development from the very beginning, in accordance with the Human Centred Design approach.

First laboratory and field tests show that the quality of the urine meets medical specifications. Test subjects found the prototype comfortable to wear and perceived it as a more dignified alternative to the traditional method of sitting on the toilet for long periods of time or inserting a catheter.

Caregivers were able to handle the prototype easily and quickly. Because the Ucollector has a sensor that records the amount of urine collected, and caregivers can access this information via a smartphone app, they can leave the elderly without a guilty conscience, in part because they are free to move around and go about their usual activities. 

Project partners 

• Texible GmbH, Dornbirn 
• Brønderslev Municipality, Denmark 
• LifeSense Group B.V., Netherlands 
• Archipel Zorggroep, Netherlands