Urinary Catheter Varying Flexibility Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing urinary catheters lack optimal flexibility and rigidity profiles along their length, which can lead to difficulties in navigating the urethra without collapsing or buckling, particularly in male users with tortuous urethral pathways.
Innovation Solution
The development of urinary catheters with varying flexibility profiles achieved through the use of cuts or slits, spiral cuts, coiled filaments, and cross-linkable materials, allowing for specific sections to be more flexible or rigid based on the urethral anatomy, enabling effective navigation and insertion without collapsing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the catheter shaft is made uniformly rigid, then it can be pushed through the urethra without collapsing or buckling, but it cannot navigate the curves of the urethra effectively
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter shaft is divided into multiple sections with different flexibility characteristics. The distal section (first section) is made more flexible to navigate urethral curves, while the proximal section (second section) is made more rigid to provide structural support and prevent buckling during insertion.
Solution Approach 2:
Different sections of the catheter shaft are assigned different mechanical properties tailored to their specific functional requirements. The distal section has higher flexibility for navigation, while the proximal section has higher rigidity for structural integrity, creating a non-uniform flexibility profile along the shaft length.
2Ease of operation
If the catheter shaft is made uniformly flexible, then it can navigate the curves of the urethra, but it collapses or buckles before reaching the bladder
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter shaft is segmented into distinct flexibility zones. The distal section is designed with higher flexibility to conform to urethral anatomy, while the proximal section is designed with higher rigidity to maintain structural integrity and prevent collapse during the insertion process.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter employs local quality variation by assigning different mechanical properties to different sections. The distal portion exhibits higher flexibility for navigation, while the proximal portion exhibits higher rigidity for structural support, optimizing performance at each location along the shaft.
3Ease of manufacture
If a single material is used for the entire catheter shaft, then manufacturing is simplified, but the catheter cannot achieve optimal flexibility and rigidity profiles
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter shaft is constructed using composite material structures, combining materials with different mechanical properties in a layered or segmented configuration. This allows the distal section to exhibit higher flexibility while the proximal section exhibits higher rigidity, achieving an optimized flexibility profile along the shaft length.
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 catheters provide enhanced flexibility in curved sections and rigidity in straight sections, facilitating easier insertion and navigation through the urethra, ensuring successful traversal of tortuous pathways without collapsing or buckling, thus improving the usability and effectiveness of urinary catheters.
Implementation Method 1
The catheter shaft may include a coiled filament that provides flexibility to the shaft
Implementation Method 2
cross-linkable materials, allowing for specific sections to be more flexible or rigid
Data Source
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AI summary
A urinary catheter has a body and an outer layer surrounding at least a portion of the body. The structure of the body is varied and non-uniform so as to impart a varying flexibility along the length of the catheter. The frame may be injection molded, while the outer layer may be extruded. The frame may also, or alternatively, have selected regions or portions that include planar or spiral cuts or a coiled filament or corrugations or a multifilament braid or weave or mesh to impart a desired flexibility profile. The flexibility profile of a male urinary catheter may include alternating rigid and flexible regions, with proximal and distal rigid regions being configured to be positioned within the bladder and penis, with two flexible regions separated by a rigid region positioned between the penis and bladder when the catheter is deployed within a male urethra.