Sterile Catheter Dispensing Mechanism for Slippery Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing urinary catheter systems are difficult for users, especially the elderly and infirm, to manipulate due to the slippery nature of lubricated catheters within closed systems, making it challenging to grip and dispense them effectively.
Innovation Solution
A sterile closed intermittent urinary catheter system equipped with coordinated control devices that facilitate unidirectional movement of the catheter, allowing for easy advancement and retrieval by using a pair of separately translatable movement control devices within a packaging system, which can be operated with a handle grip for single-handed use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a lubricated catheter is retained within a closed sterile package, then sterility and ease of insertion are improved, but handling and gripping become difficult and messy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a dispensing device with a gripper mechanism that acts as an intermediary between the user's hand and the lubricated catheter. The gripper engages with the catheter through the sterile package barrier, allowing the user to manipulate the catheter without direct contact, thus maintaining sterility while enabling effective handling and gripping of the slippery catheter surface.
2Device complexity
If a single movement control device is used, then device complexity is reduced, but control precision and ease of dispensing deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the movement control function into two separate translatable movement control devices instead of using a single device. Each device can be independently manipulated to control different aspects of catheter dispensing. This segmentation provides finer control precision and easier dispensing operation, allowing users to manipulate each control device separately to achieve precise catheter advancement while managing the overall system complexity through modular design.
Data Source
AI summary
A packaged closed intermittent urinary catheter system equipped with a dispensing system and method of dispensing a packaged catheter using the dispensing system. The dispensing system is a pair of separately translatable movement control devices, each operably engaging the catheter for permitting unidirectional movement of the catheter in a first axial direction relative to the movement control devices. The movement control devices may be mounted to a hand-grippable assembly with a sliding or pivoting movable member reciprocal to a base member. Alternatively, the movement control devices are mounted to a coupling member and a spring member biases them apart.