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. 2024 Jan;43(1):153-160.
doi: 10.1002/nau.25317. Epub 2023 Oct 27.

Development and construction of an open-platform, open-source low-cost portable uroflowmeter: The OpenFlow device

Germano Adelino Gallo  1 , Aderivaldo Cabral Dias Filho  2 , Pedro Rincon Cintra da Cruz  2 , Clayton Franco Moraes  1
Affiliations

Development and construction of an open-platform, open-source low-cost portable uroflowmeter: The OpenFlow device

Germano Adelino Gallo et al. Neurourol Urodyn. 2024 Jan.

Abstract

Background: Uroflowmetry is useful to screen for and manage many voiding disorders. Home-based uroflowmetry might better represent the patient's true voiding pattern and be more widely adopted if an accurate low-cost portable device was available.

Objective: Development and initial evaluation of an open-platform, open-source low-cost portable uroflowmeter.

Materials and methods: We designed and built an uroflowmeter comprising of a load cell and digital memory card unit connected to a programmable microcontroller board mounted upon a 3D printed frame. It generated date-stamped tables which were processed and plotted. Twenty urologists were recruited to assess the device. Each participant received the equipment that was returned, along with a bladder diary, after at least 24 consecutive hours of homemade uroflowmetry recording. Additionally, were assessed with the International Prostatic Symptom Score (I-PSS) and Peeling diagram, whereas the device's ease of use, robustness, and portability were evaluated with a Likert-type questionnaire. Two experienced urodynamicists independently evaluated the tracings' quality rated with a 3° ordinal scale: (1) Interpretable without artifacts; (2) Interpretable with artifacts; (3) Uninterpretable.

Results: Participants' median age was 36.6 years old, none having an I-PSS > 5 or Peeling > 2. Overall 138 voidings were recorded (77 daytime, 61 nightly episodes). The device's ease of use, robustness, and portability obtained maximum score in 80% of evaluations. Most (98%) of the tracings were considered interpretable. Limitations included its small study population and short monitoring times.

Conclusion: The construction of a cheap (<50 USD), accurate user-friendly portable uroflowmeter proved feasible, which could facilitate access to portable uroflowmetry.

Keywords: home-based uroflowmetry; open-source software; portable uroflowmeter; uroflowmetry.

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References

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