Incontinence affects almost two-thirds of nursing home residents and half of acute care patients. Half of these incontinence patients and a third of diapered children suffer from incontinence-associated dermatitis (IAD), a skin inflammation resulting from exposure to urine and/or feces as a result of incontinence. IAD increases the risk of developing microbial skin infections and pressure ulcers. Delays in changing a patient's diaper or brief are cited as the leading cause of IAD. Yet, no guidance is given to determine when a patient has an incontinence event. JPTechnologies, Inc. proposes to develop wireless sensor inserts to monitor a patient's brief or diaper for incontinence episodes. The goal for our sensor inserts is to provide caregivers with real time data on their patient's needs so brief and diaper changes can be performed as needed rather than by schedule. With our sensor inserts, caregivers can better manage incontinence by limiting their patient's exposure to soiled briefs and diapers. The Phase I research demonstrated the effectiveness of our sensor circuits to detect and distinguish different types of waste (urine, feces, and mixtures of the two) within seconds of exposure. The ability to differentiate urine from feces from mixtures of the two is unique and will help identify when patients are most at risk for IAD. In Phase II, we will develop patient ready inserts and nursing home ready readers. An exploratory study is proposed to demonstrate that the sensor system can improve quality of care (reduced incontinence exposure times), increase individualization of care, and improve health outcomes with reduced incidence of IAD and PrUs in a nursing home population.
Over half of hospitalized patients and nearly two out of three nursing home residents suffer from incontinence. Up to a half of the incontinent are afflicted with incontinence-associated dermatitis which increases their risk of microbial skin infections and pressure ulcers. Successful demonstration of the sensor inserts will lower a patient's exposure time to soiled briefs and diapers and promise a new approach to managing incontinence, one that produces better health outcome.
