Foley Catheter Fluid-Column Sensing for Bladder Pressure Profiling
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing Foley catheters lack the capability to provide highly resolved diagnostic information beyond basic drainage and pressure measurement, limiting their utility in deriving critical physiologic data from the urinary tract.
Innovation Solution
A Foley type catheter equipped with high-fidelity pressure sensing and transduction capabilities, combined with optional temperature and analyte sensing, to generate chronological pressure profiles that can be processed to yield detailed physiologic data such as peritoneal pressure, respiratory rate, cardiac rate, and cardiac output, using a pressure sensor with a transducer and fluid column, and optionally including temperature and analyte sensors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a Foley catheter is used for basic drainage and pressure measurement, then the device structure remains simple and cost-effective, but the diagnostic information resolution is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple sensing capabilities (pressure sensing with high-fidelity transduction, temperature sensing, and analyte sensing) into a single Foley catheter device. The pressure sensor, temperature sensor, and analyte sensor are integrated along the catheter body, allowing simultaneous acquisition of multiple physiologic parameters through one device rather than requiring separate instruments.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter is designed to perform multiple functions: urinary drainage, high-resolution pressure measurement, temperature monitoring, and analyte detection. This multi-functional design allows a single device to provide comprehensive diagnostic information that previously required multiple separate tools, thereby improving measurement precision without proportionally increasing complexity.
2Measurement precision
If high-fidelity pressure sensing is added to the catheter, then physiologic data resolution improves, but the device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical pressure measurement mechanisms with electronic pressure sensors and transducers. This substitution enables high-fidelity pressure sensing with superior resolution compared to mechanical systems, while the electronic components can be miniaturized and integrated into the catheter structure using modern manufacturing techniques.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a fluid column as an intermediary medium between the pressure interface at the distal end and the pressure transducer at the proximal end. This fluid-filled pathway transmits pressure signals faithfully from the bladder environment to the sensing element, enabling high-resolution pressure measurement while allowing the transducer to be positioned where it can be more easily accessed and manufactured.
3Loss of information
If multiple sensors are integrated into the catheter, then the quantity of diagnostic information increases, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is divided into functional segments along its length: a distal pressure interface, a fluid column for pressure transmission, a pressure transducer, temperature sensors positioned at specific locations, and analyte sensors. This segmentation allows each sensing function to be optimized independently while maintaining overall device coherence and reducing integration complexity.
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
Enables the detection of physiologic parameters with high resolution, allowing for monitoring of conditions like intraabdominal hypertension, cardiac status, and metabolic diseases, and facilitating feedback-controlled treatment regimens.
Implementation Method 1
a pressure transducer at a proximal end of the catheter... the pressure transducer can transduce pressure impinging on it from the pressure interface into a chronological pressure profile
Implementation Method 2
a fluid column disposed between the pressure interface and the pressure transducer
Data Source
AI summary
Foley type catheter embodiments for sensing physiologic data from a urinary tract of a patient are disclosed. The system includes the catheter and a data processing apparatus and methods for sensing physiologic data from the urinary tract. Embodiments may also include a pressure sensor having a pressure interface at a distal end of the catheter, a pressure transducer at a proximal end, and a fluid column disposed between the pressure interface and transducer. When the distal end is residing in the bladder, the pressure transducer can transduce pressure impinging on it into a chronological pressure profile, which can be processed by the data processing apparatus into one or more distinct physiologic pressure profiles, for example, peritoneal pressure, respiratory rate, and cardiac rate. At a sufficiently high data-sampling rate, these physiologic data may further include relative pulmonary tidal volume, cardiac output, relative cardiac output, and absolute cardiac stroke volume.