Development of a diaper cover that measures urine absorption for elderly dogs

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K12685
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Home economics/Human life
• Research Institution: University of Toyama
• Principal Investigator: NAKAJIMA Kazuki 富山大学, 大学院理工学研究部(工学), 教授 (50207776)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): KIM Jyuhyon 富山大学, 大学院理工学研究部(工学), 講師 (00635146)
• Research Collaborator: KONNO Shujiro ; YAMAMOTO Shintaro
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: おむつ / おむつカバー / おむつセンサ / 高齢犬

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The number of elderly indoor dogs is increasing. Elderly dog owners use a diaper to prevent elderly dogs from contaminating a room due to their incontinence. The owners are hard to know urinary information such as time and amount of urination. In this study, we developed a diaper cover equipped with an urine absorption sensor. Urine absorption volume was measured as electrical capacitance and the data was transmitted via Bluetooth. As the results of preliminary experiments, the measurement accuracy was at least 20 ml. The volume of the electronic circuit unit at the start of this research was 260 ml, but we succeeded in miniaturization of it to the size of 15 ml. It will be useful for diagnosis and treatment if urinary information of elderly dogs becomes a database in the future.

Free Research Field

高齢者工学