Paper Session C4: Methods and Measures
Smart Cup: Development of A Device to Measure Liquid Intake
Rose Ann DiMaria-Ghalili, Drexel University College of Nursing and Health Professions; Ahmad PourShoghi, Drexel University School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems; Kambiz Pourrezaei, Drexel University School of Biomedical Engineering, Science, and Health Systems
Background/Purpose: Malnutrition (i.e., undernutrition) is a common geriatric syndrome and 12-72% of older adults are
malnourished or at risk for malnutrition across the care continuum. While a small but consistent weight gain is observed
in malnourished older adults who receive oral liquid nutrition supplements (ONS), there is a gap in measuring compliance with ONS which contributes to the limited evidence of improvement in clinical outcomes in those treated with ONS.
Researchers inconsistently report how the amount of ONS consumed was quantified, and in clinical practice, nurses often
fail to document oral intake. Continuous real-time unobtrusive monitoring of liquid intake with sensors (smart cup) has
the potential to impact outcomes for malnourished older adults by documenting if the prescribed amount of ONS was
consumed. If the amount was not consumed then alerts will be sent to clinicians so they can suggest alternative treatments. The purpose of this proof-of-concept study was to develop a smart cup prototype to quantify the amount liquid
consumed and the time liquid was consumed.
Methods: We designed a two-piece Smart Cup prototype that provides information on the volume and time of liquid
consumed during a monitoring session, comprising a series of consumption events. When a new disposable vessel is
placed into the cup holder, the device is turned on. When a known liquid is first poured into the newly-placed cup, a
weight sensor in the base of the cup wakes the other sensors and initiates a monitoring session. The weight sensor (by
detecting change) and an accelerometer indicate each consumption (or other emptying) event within a session, stimulating recordings of that event. Liquid volume is estimated from the weight of the liquid and the liquid’s known density. A
microcontroller in the cup holder base performs limited data analysis calculations while most of the data analysis is done
in a central server. We validated the method to measure volume in a blinded test.
Results: We tested the performance of a variety of weight sensors and accelerometers to detect change in known
volume of liquids. We then developed the coding language to translate the data generated from the sensors into meaningful information about each drinking event. We then tested the ability of the cup to measure preselected volumes of
liquid with an acceptable error rate of 5% up to a maximum of 5 cc error.
Conclusions and Implications: We validated the design of our Smart Cup in the laboratory setting. Further human-factor
design and usability testing is needed prior to using the cup as a measurement device in a randomized clinical trial.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this presentation the participants will be able to:
• Describe the development of a smart health technology to improve nutrition in older adults.
• Describe the importance of monitoring compliance of oral nutritional supplements in malnourished older adults.
Eastern Nursing Research Society • 26th Annual Scientific Sessions
Abstract Listing
A211