Helical Coil Catheter Packaging for Sterility and Compact Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current pre-wetted intermittent catheters face challenges in ease of use, sterility maintenance, and packaging convenience, particularly for patients with limited dexterity, as they require external wetting fluids, risk sterility compromise during handling, and have complex packaging that can be difficult to open.
Innovation Solution
A packaged urinary catheter featuring a conduit within a helical coil sleeve with releasable caps and a lubricating material, allowing for compact, discreet storage and easy deployment, maintaining sterility and facilitating insertion without direct contact with the catheter surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the catheter is packaged in a dry environment with external wetting fluid, then the catheter can be stored compactly, but the user must handle the catheter directly with wetting fluid which compromises sterility and is difficult for patients with limited dexterity
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is nested within a collapsible pouch containing wetting fluid, which is itself nested within an outer packaging. This multi-layer nesting allows compact storage while maintaining sterility, as the catheter remains enclosed in the fluid-filled pouch until use.
Solution Approach 2:
The wetting fluid acts as an intermediary between the user and the catheter. Instead of the user handling the catheter directly, they manipulate the pouch containing the fluid and catheter, reducing direct contact and maintaining sterility.
2Ease of operation
If the catheter requires opening of packaging and handling with wetting fluid, then the catheter can be prepared for use, but the process is complex and difficult for patients with limited dexterity
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter is pre-positioned within the wetting fluid in the pouch during manufacturing. This preliminary action eliminates the need for the user to assemble or prepare the catheter with fluid, as it arrives pre-prepared in its operational state.
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter, wetting fluid, and packaging are merged into a single integrated unit. The collapsible pouch serves as both the container for the fluid and the protective sheath for the catheter, eliminating separate components and simplifying the overall structure.
3Ease of operation
If the catheter is packaged in a wet environment, then the catheter is pre-hydrated and ready for insertion, but the packaging is larger and less compact
Solution Approach 1:
The pouch is designed to be collapsible and dynamic in volume. When full of wetting fluid, it provides hydration to the catheter; when fluid is removed or consumed, the pouch collapses to a smaller volume, allowing compact storage and transport.
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 solution enhances user convenience, maintains sterility during insertion, and simplifies the catheterization process by allowing easy deployment and disposal while minimizing exposure to contaminants, making it suitable for patients with limited dexterity.
Implementation Method 1
pre-wetted intermittent catheters are intermittent catheters having a highly lubricious coating on an outer surface thereof
Implementation Method 2
The lubricious coating can include a hydrogel or any coating that renders the surface of the conduit hydrophilic
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a packaged urinary catheter assembly and method of making and using the packaged urinary catheter assembly. The urinary catheter assembly includes a urinary catheter having a proximal end and a distal end. The distal end includes at least one aperture for receiving fluid from a patient. The urinary catheter is contained within a sleeve having a length, a width, and a size configured to receive the catheter. According to one embodiment, the urinary catheter and the sleeve may be arranged in a helical coil. The outer surface of the urinary catheter may have a lubricious and/or an antimicrobial coating.