Intermittent urinary catheter with conical lumen

Abstract

An intermittent urinary catheter has a catheter body extending from an open distal end to a proximal end, with the proximal end configured for insertion into an urethra. A lumen is formed longitudinally in the catheter body. Eyelets are formed through a wall of the catheter body to communicate with the lumen. Each eyelet is located equidistantly from the proximal end of the catheter body. The lumen is conical with a cross-sectional area of the lumen measured at a distal end portion of the catheter body larger than a cross-sectional area of the lumen measured at a proximal end portion of the catheter body.

Description

BACKGROUND[0001]Urinary catheter assemblies for draining the bladder are increasingly used for intermittent catheterisation. Typically, urinary catheters are used by patients suffering from urinary incontinence or by disabled individuals like paraplegics or tetraplegics, who may have no control permitting voluntary urination and for whom catheterisation may be the way of urinating.[0002]Intermittent catheters are typically inserted by the user him- or herself and sits only in the urethra and bladder for as long as it takes to empty the bladder—e.g. for about 5-10 minutes. Intermittent catheters are used every 4-6 hours to empty the bladder corresponding roughly to the interval at which people having no urinary problems would usually go to the bathroom. An important feature for the intermittent catheter is to ease the insertion into the urethra. This is done by providing the intermittent catheter with a low frictious surface. Non-limiting examples of such are hydrophilic coated cathe...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent text discusses a triangular catheter that has three eyelets in the same height and a cross-sectional area that increases from a smaller area at the tip to a larger area at the outlet. The results of the test showed that this catheter provides a flow within the range of non-catheter users, meaning that catheter users can empty their bladder as quickly as non-catheter users. The goal of the patent is to improve the flow of the catheter to make it more efficient for users.

Problems solved by technology

Users of intermittent catheters may experience that emptying of the bladder takes long time—e.g. more than 10-15 minutes.

This may at least partly be due to the fact that the user is unable to provide any pressure to the bladder, e.g. if the user is somehow spinal cord injured.

Furthermore, the limitation in the diameter of the catheter may also influence the flow-rate.

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