The Challenge: Bedwetting affects children and families worldwide
Bedwetting can affect a child's confidence and add stress to a family's nightly routine.
- 7.2% pooled global prevalence among children and adolescents (2025 systematic review and meta-analysis, 128 studies, 445,242 participants across 39 countries: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40114238/).
- Millions of children worldwide are affected, with prevalence varying substantially by age and definition.
Current standard of care
Current first-line options include moisture alarms and desmopressin (see https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32278657/).
- Conventional moisture alarms respond only after wetting begins and require sustained family engagement.
- Desmopressin can reduce wet nights while it is being used, but response and durability vary.
NiteCue is exploring whether a wearable could help identify physiological patterns before a wetting event, as a potential complement to existing approaches, subject to research and validation.
Mechanism under research: The signal is the sequence, not a single sensor
Our early hypothesis is that no single sensor reading predicts a bedwetting event on its own. Instead, we are researching whether a sequence across multiple functional channels may carry meaningful pre-event information.
- Autonomic response
- Cardiovascular dynamics
- Sleep and movement context
- Local physiology
Illustrative hypothesis. Not measured data.
PreVoid ML: A research platform in development
PreVoid ML is the name for the biosensing and machine-learning research approach being explored inside NiteCue. The intent is to analyze physiological signal patterns overnight and evaluate whether a repeatable pattern exists ahead of a wetting event. No ionizing radiation. Low-power wearable electronics only. This is a research effort; no product, algorithm or alert has been validated.
Possible future directions
NiteCue's initial research focus is pediatric nocturnal enuresis. The following are possible future directions only, each requiring separate research, development and clinical validation. None are validated or in active development today.
- Adult nighttime incontinence and nocturia
- Geriatric and institutional continence care
- Neurogenic bladder and digital urology support
- Daytime continence support
Founder Story
"I experienced bedwetting as a child. Decades later, I watched my own son go through the same thing, with the same longstanding approaches. I wanted to explore whether something different was possible." — Itay Avni, Founder & CEO.
Core team and development partners
Core team
- Itay Avni — Founder & CEO. Biomedical engineer and commercial leader with nearly 20 years across Philips, Johnson & Johnson, Edwards Lifesciences and international medical-device ventures.
External development partners
- Yoav Aminov — External algorithm development advisor. Biomedical engineering background with expertise in machine learning and signal processing for health applications.
- Nohayo Ltd — External hardware development partner. Supports wearable and digital health hardware development.
Advisory Board
- Prof. Konstantinos Kamperis, Pediatric Nephrology — Professor, Pediatric Nephrology, Aarhus University Hospital. Past President of ICCS (2022 to 2024).
- Dr. Anka Nieuwhof-Leppink, Head of Urotherapy — Head of Urotherapy, Wilhelmina Children's Hospital. ICCS Board Member, ESPU Research Committee.
- Reut Yalon, PhD, Product & Strategy Advisor — Vice President and Category Leader, Azurion Eye, Philips. Former CPO at Aidoc, with extensive experience in clinical AI product development and commercialization.
Backed by
NiteCue's planned feasibility phase is supported by the Israel Innovation Authority's Tnufa program, a national initiative supporting early-stage deep-tech ventures.
Validation: A planned feasibility phase, not a finished product
The planned Tnufa-supported feasibility phase is a passive, non-treatment research program. It is designed to test whether repeatable physiological patterns can be identified before pediatric nocturnal enuresis events. It does not test a finished alerting product or a treatment outcome. A predictive prototype and a formal alerting study would follow only after successful feasibility results.
Feasibility objectives
- Build a high-quality synchronized overnight physiological dataset with moisture-confirmed event timestamps.
- Identify the signal channels that contribute meaningful pre-event information.
- Evaluate repeatability, lead time and false-alert burden within each child.
- Define the minimal sensor set and technical go or no-go criteria for the next development phase.
Safety
NiteCue is being designed as a non-invasive, externally worn system. Materials, skin-contact safety, comfort and age suitability will be assessed throughout research and development.
Vision
NiteCue is exploring whether physiological research can help identify patterns before pediatric bedwetting events, as an area of ongoing early-stage development.
Company & Contact
NiteCue is developed by IA21 BioSystems, founded by Itay Avni. Contact: itay.avni@nitecue.ai. Website: nitecue.ai.