Novel Device Continuously Monitors Kidney Function

A continuous urine output (UO) monitor measures flow rate and volume in real time, aiding early detection of acute kidney injury (AKI) in hospitalized patients.

The Serenno Medical (Yokneam, Israel) Sentinel device is designed for continuous kidney function assessment by accurate monitoring of UO, promoting early detection of kidney damage. The system automatically detects small changes in kidney function, taking the workload off the nursing staff while delivering actionable data. Sentinel works in synergy with existing catheters and collection bags, and requires only a short and simple, non-invasive installation. The device is fully functional under any patient condition or hospital environment, such as the intensive care unit (ICU) or operating room (OR).

“Urine output measurement is a key parameter to assess kidney function. However, correct urine output determination is often difficult at the bedside, and is usually only performed intermittently and manually,” explained Professor Manu Malbrain, MD, PhD, ICU Director at University Hospital Brussels (Belgium). “Moreover, the kidneys are often the first organ to stop functioning properly, therefore continuous urine output measurement would be a valuable tool in the management of critically ill, unstable patients.”

“UO is currently monitored intermittently and manually by ICU nurses. The overworked nursing staff measures a single patient once every hour, sometimes only once every two hours. It is the only parameter still measured manually in the ICU, while the monitoring of all the other vital signs is fully automatic,” said Tomer Lark, CEO of Serenno Medical. “The completely automated Serenno system offers a solution to this problem. Using our device, nurses receive dramatically more UO data and are also automatically alerted to any change in kidney function, and thus have more time to attend to their patients' needs.”

Patients in hospital wards in general and in ICUs in particular receive a wide variety of drugs and fluids as well as other interventions, some of which have a negative effect on kidney function resulting, in a high percentage developing mild to severe kidney damage that may require dialysis or a kidney transplant. This damage is irreversible by available treatments, so early detection to avoid it is critical. Accurate and high time resolution urine monitoring is clinically accepted world-wide as the best method of achieving this goal.

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