Background

In a busy 6-bed intensive care unit, hourly urine output measurement was one of the last tasks still done entirely by hand. Every hour, nurses had to visually read the urine output, write down the number, and later re-enter it into the electronic chart. It wasn’t difficult, but it was constant. It even interrupted care, added stress, and sometimes led to small but important inaccuracies during hectic moments.

Anyone who has worked an ICU shift knows exactly how it feels: you're in the middle of another intervention, the alarm goes off, and you remember it’s time to measure the urine output again. On smooth days it’s simple. On busy days, it’s one more thing to keep in your head.

Small inconsistencies were almost inevitable. Especially double-counting when the chamber wasn’t fully emptied before a new collection cycle. The team wanted a way to make the process more reliable without adding new complexity.

That’s when they introduced HTG Urogram, a system that automates urine output monitoring by taking precise measurements every five minutes and transmitting them immediately.

Easy implementation and workflow integration

For nurses, the most important part of any new technology is whether it disrupts the routine. In this case, it didn’t. The technology was deployed across six ICU beds during a two-week observational period.

Installation and staff training were completed in under 30 minutes, and nurses did not need to change any of their routines or catheterization techniques. The system ran quietly and had a simple, intuitive design that fit naturally into the existing workflow. It became part of the shift almost immediately, without drawing attention or adding extra steps.

Nurses could access real-time diuresis data directly from the workstation.

Clinical and operational outcomes

• Average time savings: approximately 60 minutes per nurse per day, primarily due to elimination of manual charting and recalculations.

• Data integrity: reduction of recording errors from an estimated 17 % to below 2 %, with complete removal of double-counting events.

• Clinical usability: near real-time visualization of urine output trends following administration of diuretics or other medications influencing renal function, supporting earlier clinical evaluation and adjustment of therapy.

• Work environment: improved continuity of care, less cognitive load from repetitive manual tasks, and higher perceived situational awareness.

Nursing perspective

"The continuous readings give us confidence that no changes are missed, even during busy shifts."
– ICU Nurse

"The automation helps maintain accuracy without adding work. It feels like a natural part of monitoring."
– Head Nurse

Why this matters for modern ICU nursing

In intensive care, small improvements can have a big impact. Automating urine output monitoring is not about replacing clinical judgment — it’s about removing the repetitive manual work that doesn’t need to be done by hand anymore.

During the two-week trial, HTG Urogram showed that:

• a fully manual, error-prone process can be completely automated

• nurses save measurable time each shift

• data accuracy improves dramatically

• clinical decisions become faster with real-time information

• workflows stay smooth and familiar

For nurses, it’s a practical, meaningful step toward safer, calmer, more data-driven intensive care. Now they know, that good technology should feel like a helping hand, not a burden.