van Duren Bernard Hendrik, van Boxel Gijsbert Isaac
a Institute of Musculoskeletal Sciences, University College London , London , UK.
b Magdalen College Oxford , Oxford , UK.
J Med Eng Technol. 2017 Apr;41(3):179-185. doi: 10.1080/03091902.2016.1271045. Epub 2017 Jan 13.
Surgical drains are used to collect and measure fluids (e.g. serous fluid, lymph, blood, etc.). The volume of fluid in the container is measured using graded markings on the container and then recorded manually on a "drain chart" allowing for manual rate calculations. This method is dependant on regularly checking the volume of the drain and recording the value accurately; unfortunately, this is often not feasible due to staffing levels and time constraints. This results in inaccurate "drain charts" making clinical decisions based on these figures unreliable. Often the lack of confidence in these measurements leads to delayed drain removal with consequent increased infection risks and potential delayed discharge. Accurate digital measurement of drain content would have a significant impact on clinical care. This paper describes a digital technology to measure volume, making use of a positive terminal at the lowest point of the vessel and negative (sensor) terminals placed at accurate intervals along an axis of the vessel. A proof-of-concept prototype was developed using commercially available electronic components to test the feasibility of a technology for electronic measurement and recording of surgical drain content. In a simulated environment, the proposed technology was shown to be effective and accurate. The proposed electronic drain has a number of advantages over currently used devices in saving time and easing pressure on nursing staff, reduce disturbance of patients, and allows for preset alarms.
外科引流管用于收集和测量液体（如浆液、淋巴液、血液等）。通过容器上的刻度标记来测量容器内的液体量，然后手动记录在“引流图表”上，以便进行手动速率计算。这种方法依赖于定期检查引流液量并准确记录数值；不幸的是，由于人员配备水平和时间限制，这往往不可行。这导致“引流图表”不准确，基于这些数据做出的临床决策不可靠。通常对这些测量结果缺乏信心会导致引流管拔除延迟，从而增加感染风险和潜在的出院延迟。准确的引流液量数字测量将对临床护理产生重大影响。本文描述了一种测量容积的数字技术，该技术利用容器最低点的正极端和沿容器轴线以精确间隔放置的负（传感器）极端。使用商用电子元件开发了一个概念验证原型，以测试用于外科引流液量电子测量和记录技术的可行性。在模拟环境中，所提出的技术被证明是有效且准确的。与目前使用的设备相比，所提出的电子引流管具有许多优点，可节省时间、减轻护理人员压力、减少对患者的干扰，并可设置预设警报。
