Compact Urinary Catheter with Enclosure and Sheath
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current urinary catheters are often bulky, difficult to handle due to slippery surfaces, and can lead to hygiene issues, causing social embarrassment and increasing the risk of urinary tract infections due to their conspicuous nature and the need for frequent replacement.
Innovation Solution
A compact urinary catheter system featuring a disposable catheter with a sheath and enclosure that allows for discreet use, including a hygienic sheath for handling without direct contact, pre-lubrication, and a plug to control urine flow, facilitating easy insertion and use while maintaining sterility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If urinary catheters are packaged in an elongated form, then they can be easily inserted into the urethra, but they become cumbersome for storage and transport and are readily apparent to others
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is packaged within a compact enclosure that contains it in a condensed state. The enclosure acts as a container that holds the catheter in a space-efficient manner, allowing the catheter to be stored and transported in a discreet, compact form while remaining accessible for insertion when needed.
2Ease of operation
If urinary catheters are pre-lubricated with water activated coating, then insertion into the urethra is facilitated, but users must deal with packaging fluid and lubricant storage
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is pre-lubricated with a coating that is activated by water. The enclosure includes a water source that activates the lubricating coating on the catheter before use. This preliminary action ensures the catheter is lubricated and ready for insertion without requiring separate lubricant storage or complex packaging mechanisms.
3Ease of operation
If users handle the catheter directly with their hands, then they can manipulate and insert the catheter, but they risk contaminating the catheter and causing urinary tract infections
Solution Approach 1:
A sheath is provided that covers the catheter during handling and storage. The sheath acts as an intermediary barrier that allows users to manipulate the catheter without direct hand contact, thereby preventing contamination and reducing infection risk while still enabling proper catheter manipulation and insertion.
4Reliability
If urinary catheters are disposable, then hygiene is maintained and infection risk is reduced, but multiple catheters must be stored and replaced frequently
Solution Approach 1:
The enclosure is designed to contain multiple catheters in a compact, organized manner. By merging the storage function with the individual catheter units, the system allows multiple disposable catheters to be stored together in a single discreet container, reducing the need for separate storage of each catheter and facilitating frequent replacement while maintaining hygiene.
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 system provides a discreet, hygienic, and easy-to-use solution for urinary catheterization, reducing the risk of infections and social embarrassment by allowing for compact storage and use, with the catheter remaining attached to the packaging for convenience and reducing the need for frequent replacements.
Implementation Method 1
The catheter may be pre-lubricated with a water activated hydrophilic coating, or otherwise designed to be lubricated with a water soluble lubricant
Data Source
AI summary
A urinary catheter system includes a catheter, a sheath, an enclosure and a plug. The catheter has distal and proximal ends. The sheath is slidable along the catheter between first and second positions. The enclosure encloses a majority of the catheter and includes a bottom member, a top member, an outer peripheral wall defining an outer hole to allow advancement of the distal end, and an inner peripheral wall defining an inner hole, where the catheter is extendable through the inner hole. Rotating the top or bottom member relative to the other member causes the catheter to wind within the enclosure. The plug can seal the proximal end to block liquid flow, and a user can disengage the plug to allow liquid flow.