Malnutrition is a common geriatric syndrome found in older adults across the care continuum. Older adults accounted for 34% of the 39 million hospital discharges in 2010, and 58% of the 1.2 million patients discharged with an ICD-9 code of malnutrition. Malnutrition is associated with adverse health outcomes that increase the cost of care, including hospital readmissions. Oral liquid nutrition supplements (ONS) are used to treat malnutrition. However, their effectiveness is limited by the difficulty in accurately determining individual consumption and poor treatment compliance. The only way to currently measure and document ONS intake is to record the amount (in cc) of liquid provided and the amount discarded at the end of a treatment period. This information is unreliable when produced by self-report and is time-consuming and labor-intensive when obtained by a dedicated nurse. As a result, clinicians managing nutrition in vulnerable individuals are left with unreliable nutritional intake data making the evaluation of interventions and further adjustments to the treatment plan ineffective and difficult.

To simplify and facilitate ONS intake monitoring, better inform decision making and improve treatment compliance, Drexel’s clinicians and biomedical engineers have developed a Smart Cup technology that unobtrusively and automatically measures actual ONS intake and wirelessly communicates it to the caregivers. Smart cup consists of a specialized cup holder and disposable cup closely resembling traditional cup. The cup holder combines sensor, wireless data handling, and analysis technologies enabling continuous, real-time monitoring of liquid intake and wireless data transmission using Wi-Fi. When integrated into a clinical (hospital) management plan, the Smart Cup automates ONS intake monitoring, which frees up nurses’ time and has the potential to impact outcomes for nutritionally vulnerable older adults by documenting ONS intake, automatically monitoring compliance with the prescribed treatment and alerting patients and/or caregivers, and potentially triggering alternative treatment recommendations if necessary.