Rothwell scale

Absorbency scale for incontinence products

The Rothwell scale, or Rothwell system, or Rothwell method, applied to incontinence care products, is a scale that shows how absorbent a particular incontinence pad or adult diaper is, and how much liquid it can absorb and hold before it is likely to leak due to overfill.

The system provides a quick reference for assessing how much liquid can be held by a sheet, pad or diaper, and therefore how appropriate it will be for a particular individual in any given circumstance. The scale is based on the total absorbency test ISO 11948–1. The scale runs from 1 to 22, with 1 indicating the least liquid absorbed, measured in grams, and 22 the most liquid absorbed. The scale also applies a prefix to show what type of product is being referred to, with pads and sheets having an “I” prefix, and all in one diapers using a D prefix.

Scale | Absorbency |  | Scale | Absorbency |

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I1 | 0g to 49g | D14 | 1300g to 1699g
I2 | 50g to 99g | D15 | 1700g to 2099g
I3 | 100g to 199g | D16 | 2100g to 2499g
I4 | 200g to 299g | D17 | 2500g to 2899g
I5 | 300g to 449g | D18 | 2900g to 3299g
I6 | 450g to 599g | D19 | 3300g to 3699g
I7 | 600g to 799g | D20 | 3700g to 4099g
I8 | 800g to 999g | D21 | 4100g to 4499g
I9 | 1000g to 1249g | D22 | 4500g to 4899g
I10 | 1250g to 1499g
I11 | 1500g to 1799g
I12 | 1800g to 2099g
I13 | 2100g to 2499g
I14 | 2500g to 2899g
I15 | 2900g to 3299g

## References

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* M Fader, A Cottenden, K Getliffe, H Gage, S Clarke-O’Neill, K Jamieson, N Green, P Williams, R Brooks and J Malone-Lee, "Absorbent products for urinary/faecal incontinence: a comparative evaluation of key product designs", Health Technology Assessment, vol. 12, no. 29, 2008.
* A.M Cottenden, J.G Rothwell, H Leander, C Grau, R.J Brooks, "An investigation of the repeatability and reproducibility of ISO 11948-1 (the Rothwell method) for measuring the absorption capacity of incontinence pads", Medical Engineering & Physics, vol. 24, iss. 2, pp. 159–163, March 2002.
* ISO 11948-1:1996, "Urine-absorbing aids -- Part 1: Whole-product testing", International Organization for Standardization, 1996