14 DAY TRIAL // Nerves transmit commands from our brains to the rest of our body parts, and are also the ones that relay what we feel back to the brain. Injuries can cripple that ability to feel though, which is why scientists keep coming up with things like pressure sensors for bladders.
What you see in that picture up there is a tiny bladder pressure sensor. What's behind and under it is a fingertip, to give you an idea of the size.
Scientists at Norwegian research group SINTEF have created it for people suffering from nerve problems, like those resulting from spinal injuries.
People in such situations often don't feel when their bladders are getting full, something that can damage it, and their kidneys for that matter.
So the researchers have made a sensor that can provide readings without any discomfort.
Much better than the current solution, which consists of inserting a catheter into the urethra and using it to fill the bladder with saline solution. It's not even totally accurate, since the bladder fills a lot faster than it does normally.
The SINTEF sensor can supposedly stay there for years, or at least months, and doesn't cause discomfort at all. No movement impairment involved, and the risk of infection should be lower as well (the implant is injected into the bladder through the skin).
A clinical trial involving three spinal injury patients will be carried out next month. After that, the sensor may be used to test pressure anywhere else in the body.