Bladder Scanner Reduces Incontinence

A device that uses noninvasive, ultrasound technology to rapidly reveal the amount of urine in a resident's bladder is reducing incontinent episodes in skilled nursing facilities, says the developer of the device, Diagnostic Ultrasound (Bothell, WA, USA).

Called Bladderscan, the device also reduces the number of catheterizations and resulting infections in residents. In addition, costs are reduced, according to Mary Ann Kehoe, executive director of Wellspring Innovative Solutions, an alliance of 11 skilled nursing facilities based in Wisconsin (USA). She points out that taking a resident to the bathroom in a wheelchair takes eight minutes, while an incontinent episode takes 22 minutes to clean and tidy up. Based on quarterly data, Wellspring prevented about 256,000 incontinent episodes in one year and has projected yearly savings of nearly US$1million in staff time throughout the alliance.

A training video is being released that depicts line staff employees demonstrating proper use of BladderScan. Wellspring trains nursing and restorative staff, not housekeepers, to use Bladder Scan. The device is preserving the dignity of elderly residents and improving their quality of life, according to Kehoe. "Catheterization is an invasion of privacy,” she noted.




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