A bladder scanner may seem like a costly expense for an Aged Care facility, but for your residents, they can assist in preventing costly, painful and disruptive procedures such as unnecessary catheterisation and cystoscopy.

Bladder scanners are compact and portable, hand-held ultrasound devices, which can perform a quick, easy and non-invasive scan of the bladder. The scanner has an ultrasound probe and transducer to reflect sound waves from the patient’s bladder to the scanner. Data is then transmitted to a computer in the handheld unit to automatically calculate the bladder volume.

Bladder scanning is painless for the patient and eliminates the risks associated with unnecessary catheterization. The entire scan takes only a couple of minutes to complete, does not require operation by a sonographer, and may prevent unnecessary invasive procedures.

Bladder scanners can assist in the diagnosis, evaluation and treatment of post-operative urinary retention (POUR), and help prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infections. In addition, studies have shown that bladder scanners are more effective than manual palpation in the assessment of postoperative bladder distention in the PACU (Society of Urologic Nurses and Associates [SUNA], 2011). The bladder scanner can be used to help identify bladder distention, identify causes of urinary frequency and bladder irritability, and is a useful tool to use in bladder training (Nurses Improving Care for Hospitalized Elders [NICHE], 2011). A bladder scanner may also be useful in assisting with accurate assessment of a patient’s hydration status.

Other uses of bladder scanners include the identification of a blocked Foley catheter, assessment of bladder status and function after the removal of an indwelling urinary catheter, and as a biofeedback tool in bladder training (SUNA, 2011).

Related product: BioCon 900D Bladder Scanner with docking station

The BioCon-900 is the latest release from Mcube, offering a wireless, non-invasive 3D ultrasound system that measures the volume of urine in a patient’s bladder. The BioCon-900 uses ultrasound signals to determine the bladder’s outline and total volume of urine. The revolutionary real-time Pre-Scan function locates the bladder prior to scanning and improves the accuracy of results. Immediate printout of results via the internal printer or use the included CubeScan PC software to upload saved data to a computer for later review. 12 Month Warranty