Extendable Urine Discharge Sleeve for Catheter Spill Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wheelchair-bound users face difficulties in discharging urine from intermittent urinary catheters into a toilet without urine spillage while remaining in close proximity, as existing products do not provide a suitable solution for directing urine flow effectively.
Innovation Solution
An intermittent urinary catheter assembly with a urine discharge sleeve that can be extended from a compact stowed configuration to a deployed position, allowing urine to be directed into a receptacle such as a toilet, featuring a funnel and adapter assemblies with extendable urine discharge sleeves and secure attachment mechanisms for convenient and spill-free discharge.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a standard intermittent catheter is used, then the catheterization procedure is straightforward for many users, but wheelchair-bound users cannot discharge urine into a toilet without spillage while remaining in close proximity
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter assembly incorporates an extendable urine discharge sleeve that can be dynamically adjusted between a retracted position (for insertion and storage) and an extended position (for urine discharge). This dynamic structure allows the same device to serve multiple functions: standard catheterization and adapted urine discharge into toilets, thereby resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter assembly is segmented into distinct functional components: the catheter tube, the funnel, and the extendable urine discharge sleeve. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function while working together as an integrated system, enabling the device to address both the simplicity of catheterization and the adaptability needed for urine discharge.
2Reliability
If the urine discharge sleeve is extended to reach the toilet, then urine can be discharged without spillage, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The urine discharge sleeve is designed to nest within the funnel when retracted, and the funnel itself can be nested within the catheter tube during storage. This nesting arrangement allows the extendable components to be compact when not in use, minimizing the increase in device complexity while maintaining the capability for spill-free urine discharge when extended.
Solution Approach 2:
The urine discharge sleeve is constructed from flexible material that allows it to be extended and positioned as needed, then collapsed back into a compact form. This flexibility enables the sleeve to adapt to different discharge scenarios without requiring a complex rigid structure, thereby maintaining reliability while limiting the increase in device complexity.
Data Source
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Figure 6~6C
AI summary
An intermittent urinary catheter assembly (20) comprises a catheter tube (22) having a proximal insertion end (24) and a distal end (26) remote from the proximal insertion end and a lumen (28) which extends from at or near the proximal insertion end to the distal end for draining urine from a human bladder. The intermittent urinary catheter assembly includes a urine discharge sleeve (34) associated with the discharge opening (30) of the catheter tube, and the urine discharge sleeve has a compact stowed configuration and is extendable into a deployed configuration for directing urine flow. Alternatively; an adapter assembly (50") comprises a fitting or nipple (52") having a urine passageway for insertion into a funnel (40") associated with a urine discharge end of an intermittent urinary catheter, and a discharge funnel (42") associated with the fitting or nipple, and an extendable urine discharge sleeve (34") within the discharge funnel.