Intermittent Catheter With Segmented Laser-Ablated Drainage Openings
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing intermittent urinary catheters often experience abrupt blockage of drainage openings, leading to negative pressure pulses that can suck bladder wall tissue into the catheter, causing discomfort and potentially leaving residual urine due to premature catheter removal.
Innovation Solution
The catheter features multiple small drainage openings made by laser ablation, ensuring that the drainage opening walls are not covered by hydrophilic material, and are arranged to prevent simultaneous blockage, thereby reducing the risk of negative pressure pulses and improving urine flow.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a single large drainage opening is used, then urine flow rate is improved, but the risk of abrupt blockage and negative pressure pulses increases
Solution Approach 1:
The single large drainage opening is segmented into multiple smaller drainage openings distributed along the catheter. This segmentation maintains adequate total flow area while preventing abrupt complete blockage, as only a portion of the total drainage capacity can be blocked at any given time. The segmentation resolves the contradiction by distributing the drainage function across multiple independent pathways.
2Ease of operation
If hydrophilic material is applied to reduce friction, then insertion ease is improved, but the drainage opening walls become covered and blockage risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The hydrophilic material coating is applied selectively to specific regions of the catheter surface, with deliberate exclusion of the drainage opening walls. This local quality differentiation allows the hydrophilic coating to reduce insertion friction on the external surface while preventing blockage by ensuring the drainage pathways remain free of hydrophilic material accumulation. The selective coating strategy resolves the contradiction between insertion ease and blockage prevention.
3Reliability
If drainage openings are made smaller to prevent blockage, then reliability is improved, but urine flow rate decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple small drainage openings are distributed along the catheter length, with each opening individually small enough to resist complete blockage. The collective drainage capacity of all openings combined maintains adequate urine flow rate. This segmentation approach allows each opening to be small and reliable while the system as a whole maintains high productivity through parallel drainage pathways.
4Reliability
If multiple drainage openings are distributed along the catheter, then blockage resistance is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple drainage openings are merged into a single functional unit distributed along the catheter. While the number of openings increases, they work collectively as an integrated drainage system, managing urine flow through coordinated action. This merging approach achieves high blockage resistance through redundancy while maintaining manageable device complexity through unified design and control.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design significantly reduces the risk of bladder tissue being sucked into the catheter, ensures continuous urine flow until the bladder is empty, and minimizes the risk of residual urine, enhancing the comfort and effectiveness of catheterization.
Implementation Method 1
a layer of a hydrophilic material configured to change from a non-swelled condition to a swelled condition by contact with a swelling medium
Implementation Method 2
the drainage openings are made by laser ablation of the hydrophilic material and the substrate material such that the drainage opening wall is not covered by the hydrophilic material
Data Source
AI summary
An intermittent urinary catheter has multiple drainage openings adapting the catheter to fully drain a bladder and reduce an occurrence of urinary tract infection.