Signostics, a medical device company based in Australia, announced on Thursday that its new SignosRT Bladder, a hand-held bladder scanner, received FDA clearance. It's used to non-invasively and automatically measure bladder volume in order to prevent urinary tract infections (UTI).

Signostics decided to create this scanner to meet the growing demand for mobile medical devices that can provide care at the bedside. "This is a revolution in health care and has the potential to transform community nursing, geriatrics, in-hospital maternity care, and long-term care," Steve Wilson, vice president of business development for Signostics, said in a statement.

Catheterizing patients with suspected urinary retention is a big factor in UTIs – increasing the length of the hospital stay, according to a 2007 study in the American Journal of Infection Control. But using an ultrasound bladder scanner reduces those unnecessary catheterizations and the associated risk of UTIs, a study conducted by the University of Udine found.
Using ultrasound technology, the scanner automatically traces the outline of the patient's bladder and calculates the volume while the user is scanning. The volume is displayed on the bottom left corner of the screen.

The scanner weighs less than one pound, making it easy to transport it for acute care, long-term care, rehabilitation and general practice cases. The Royal District Nursing Service in Australia is currently using the scanner for home visits and has reported positive results.

It's already commercially available in Australia and New Zealand and the company plans to launch it in Europe this March.

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