SBIR Phase I: A Tech-Enabled Urinary Catheter for Patients with Neurogenic Bladder Dysfunction

这项小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的广泛影响/商业潜力将彻底改变数百万由于神经系统损伤导致的严重膀胱功能障碍而每天使用多个导尿管的患者的生活。目前的护理标准与生活质量差和由于与这一人群的感官问题相关的危及生命的感染而频繁住院有关。拟议的项目恢复了这些患者的感知能力，从而显著降低了死亡率和成本（每年约120亿美元）。该技术将通过使用人工智能（AI）应用程序，使这些患者得到正常的缓解，减少住院治疗。这项小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将开发无线通信电路和下游人工智能算法，以向患者提供缓解需求的建议，并实时提醒患者和临床医生尿路感染的存在，以便进行早期干预。此外，该技术直接适用于医院环境中使用的所有导尿管，它们是成本和死亡率的主要来源。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this small business innovation research (SBIR) Phase 1 project will be to revolutionize the lives of the millions of patients currently using multiple urinary catheters per day due to severe bladder dysfunctions from nervous system damage. The current standard of care is associated with a poor quality of life and frequent hospitalizations due to life-threatening infections linked to the sensory issues of this population. The proposed project restores these patients' ability to sense, enabling a significant decrease in mortality and costs (~$12B/yr). The proposed technology will allow these patients normal relief and fewer hospitalizations by using an app enabled with artificial intelligence (AI). This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a wireless communication circuit and downstream AI algorithms to advise patients of the need for relief, and alerting both patients and clinicials to the presence of a urinary tract infection in real time to enable an early intervention. In addition, the technology is directly applicable to all urinary catheters used in the hospital setting, where they are a major source of costs and mortality.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.