Listening to the urinary stream

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Microphone replaces catheter for diagnosis of voiding symptoms.

Benign prostate enlargement affects most of the elder men and often compresses the urethra resulting in voiding symptoms. Dutch researcher Tim Idzenga has found a way to measure the resistance of the urethra using sound: via a microphone placed behind the scrotum. The sound spectrum of the recorded sound depends on how much the urethra has been compressed. The company IQ+ Medical BV will develop this system commercially.

Elder men with voiding symptoms, such as a weak urinary stream and frequent voiding, often suffer from an enlarged prostate, clinically known as ‘Benign Prostatic Enlargement’ (BPE). However, a weak urinary stream and frequent voiding can also be caused by a weak bladder, for which a prostate operation does not help. 

Catheter
If BPE is suspected in a patient, the bladder pressure during voiding is measured using a catheter inserted into the bladder via the urethra. The urinary flow is simultaneously recorded. This investigation is time-consuming, painful and carries a risk of infection. On top of this, it is not carried out in all patients with BPE symptoms. Consequently, there is a need for a simple, painless measurement method for determining the resistance of the urethra and its location.

Urinating sound
Tim Idzenga came up with the idea of using the sound produced by the urinary flow in the urethra as a measure of the urethral resistance. He performed the measurement by placing a microphone against the perineum, between the scrotum and anus. The frequency spectrum of the sound was found to correlate with the narrowing of the urethra. The degree of narrowing can therefore be determined from the recorded urinary sound.

A patent for this invention is being applied for in cooperation with the company IQ+ Medical BV. The method will be tested at the urology outpatient clinic of the Erasmus MC in Rotterdam. Besides the standard method, patients with voiding symptoms will also be asked to urinate with a microphone against the perineum.

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For further information please contact:

* Dr Tim Idzenga (Erasmus MC)
*
* The doctoral thesis was defended on 16 April 2008.
* Supervisor: Prof. R. van Mastrigt

The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)

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