Indwelled Urinary Catheter Modification

Tech ID: D2022-07

Urethral catheterization is a common medical practice for a variety of problems that require long-term catheterization such as retention of urine, urinary dysfunction, neurogenic bladder, pelvic floor dysfunction, and enlarged prostate. A conventional urinary catheter design generally includes a tip and a side opening at a distal end of the catheter where the tip is stiff, rigid and firm, thus the stiff tip penetrates the bladder wall causing mucosal tears and edema in the wall of the urinary bladder and thus, causing significant bladder pain and spasm, along with an increased risk of bleeding and infection. The conventional urinary catheter uses external plug connected to the drainage port for collecting urine followed by passing the collected urine into a urine bag. There are problems associated with the external plug; it is difficult to manipulate, difficult to apply, and requires frequent replacement as it is not reusable. This makes handling the drainage port difficult for irrigation and for manipulation to change the urinary bags or use a valve, catheter plug etc. Thus, there is a need to provide a simple to use improved urinary catheter for draining urine from the urinary bladder especially a single system urinary catheter that does not require any external plug to drain the urine from the catheter and an external support to fix the catheter to the body of the patient.

Invention Summary:

Researchers at the University of Toledo have developed an improved urinary catheter that will help reduce the risks of perforation and will increase the surface area for urine drainage. Our novel single system urinary catheter does not require any external plug to drain the urine from the catheter all the time. It includes a catheter shaft with a tip consisting of multiple narrower holes replacing a single opening enhancing the efficiency of the catheter. The narrower multiple holes in the tip will limit the suction effect of the wide single hole, which is known to cause suction of the mucosa and cause bleeding, spasms and tears. Strategically placed catheter plug helps in facilitating occlusion of the catheter while manipulating the bag, or to remove the bag all together to improve care and mobility.

Application:

Urinary catheter

Advantages of the device:

• Simple to use resulting in proved patient comfort.
• Tip is friendly to the bladder.
• Better and easier manipulation of the catheter to connect bags allowing proper irrigation and draining of the catheter.
• The openings are multiple and minimize suction of the bladder mucosa.
• Catheter valve will help to have the catheter with no bags safely.
• Reduces bleeding episodes and risks of severe infections

IP Status: Patent Pending