Foldable Urinary Catheter Hinge Stabilization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional foldable urinary catheters face challenges in maintaining a long insertable length for easy urethral insertion while being compact enough for discreet storage, often resulting in difficulties with insertion due to bent configurations and varying diameters.
Innovation Solution
A foldable urinary catheter design featuring a hinge with stabilizing means, allowing the catheter to maintain a constant diameter and uninterrupted flow path, which can be easily unfolded for use, utilizing shape memory alloys or elastomeric materials to ensure a straight condition and a rotary joint for compact storage, ensuring easy insertion and storage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the catheter is made foldable with a hinge to reduce storage space, then the storage compactness is improved, but the catheter may stay in a bent condition and become difficult to insert into the urethra
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge is provided with stabilizing means that change the physical state of the hinge from flexible to stable, allowing it to maintain a straight configuration during insertion. This parameter change enables the hinge to transition from a bendable state (for compact storage) to a stabilized straight state (for easy insertion), resolving the contradiction between storage compactness and insertion ease.
2Length of moving object
If the catheter sections are connected telescopically to reduce length, then the storage length is improved, but the outer diameter varies creating obstacles for insertion
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is designed with different structural qualities at different locations. The insertable length portion maintains a constant outer diameter and smooth outer surface for easy urethral passage, while other portions can have varying diameters for compact storage. This local differentiation of structural properties allows the catheter to achieve both compact storage and obstacle-free insertion.
3Volume of moving object
If the catheter is made compact for discreet storage in pockets or handbags, then the portability is improved, but the insertable length may be insufficient for male users
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is segmented into different functional portions: a compact foldable section for storage and a sufficiently long insertable length section for medical use. The hinge with stabilizing means allows these segments to be compact during storage while maintaining the required insertable length when deployed, enabling both portability and adequate insertion length for male users.
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 catheter achieves a balance between compact storage and extended insertable length with a consistent diameter, facilitating easy insertion and maintaining a liquid-tight connection, addressing the issues of previous designs.
Implementation Method 1
the at least one hinge forms a support structure in the catheter tube, the support structure is made of a shape memory alloy or a highly elastomeric material or a memory polymer and resumes its initial unfolded, straight condition after being brought in the folded, compact storage condition
Implementation Method 2
the at least one hinge forms a support structure in the catheter tube, the support structure is made of a shape memory alloy or a highly elastomeric material or a memory polymer and resumes its initial unfolded, straight condition after being brought in the folded, compact storage condition
Data Source
Figure 1a~1b
Figure 2a~2b
Figure 3a~3b
AI summary
The present invention refers to a foldable urinary catheter (19 for draining the human bladder defining an internal flow path (6) for the urine, with a catheter tube (2) for insertion into the urethra, the catheter tube comprising at least one hinge (1; 7.1; 7.2; 7.3; 7.4; 7.5) which is conceived to bring the catheter in a folded, compact storage condition and an unfolded, straight ready-for-use condition as well as to a foldable urinary catheter kit. It is the object of the present invention to provide a foldable urinary catheter and a foldable urinary catheter kit which are very small and compact in a transport or storage condition and which provide a long insertable length of the catheter tube. Therefore, the at least one hinge in the catheter tube is provided in the insertable length of the catheter tube and comprises means (11; 13; 14, 15, 16; 23; 28; 34) for stabilizing the ready-for-use condition. The kit comprises the foldable urinary catheter as described above and a catheter package which tightly surrounds the folded catheter.