Electronic Underpants Help Caregivers Cope With Incontinence

The SIMsystem, developed over the past 15 years, was originally conceived by Fred Bergman, a Melbourne doctor. Bergman developed the first prototype, and the Australian government funded the first clinical trial in 2004. Although the physician died shortly before the trial began, Simavita continued his work, launching the first commercial trial in 2009.

"All in all, we conducted five trials of the system in aged-care facilities between 2006 and 2009," Lewis says. "We identified many issues during these trials, but even as a prototype system, it was useful in developing improved continence-care plans for residents."

Some of the challenges Simavita encountered included the complexity of detecting incontinence, such as differentiating between incontinence and other conditions, like sweat. Since the wireless system sends data packets to a central server for analysis every few seconds, it was also necessary to develop a robust, reliable network that supported multiple monitors, provided 100 percent transmission unshielded by the body mass of residents wearing the units, and had sufficient battery life. It also needed to be easy for the care staff to use, as the initial prototypes were difficult and time-consuming, which sometimes led to errors.

The SIMsystem features a pad with a moisture-sensing strip physically connected to the SIMbox, a transmitter unit held in a pouch on the front of specially designed underpants. The battery-powered SIMbox sends readings via the ZigBee protocol to a SIMgateway connected to a dedicated server running SIMsystem Manager software, which analyses the information and alerts employees via SMS text message whenever a resident requires assistance. Over a three-day assessment, the SIMsystem Manager automatically logs all voiding events and alerts the staff via SMS when a resident requires assistance. Workers can then use that data to determine the type and degree of continence, select the best type of continence aid to be used, and implement a toileting schedule for that particular resident.

According to Simavita, the SIMsystem is currently installed in 20 aged-care centers across Australia, with plans to roll it out to 200 additional sites this year. There is also significant global interest, the company reports, with a European licensee already established.