Implantable Bladder Control via Pudenal Nerve Stimulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Patients with spinal cord injuries or paralysis often lose the ability to voluntarily control bladder function and sense bladder fullness, leading to potential kidney damage from prolonged bladder pressure, and existing pudenal nerve stimulation systems do not provide real-time feedback on bladder fullness.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising implanted electrodes to stimulate the pudenal nerve with specific electrical waveforms and an implantable sensor to measure bladder pressure, allowing for real-time feedback and alerts on bladder fullness, enabling patients or caregivers to initiate urination before the bladder becomes overfilled.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If pudenal nerve stimulation systems are used to control urination, then the need for Foley catheters is eliminated, but patients lack real-time feedback on bladder fullness leading to unsafe pressure levels
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism by providing real-time information to patients and caregivers about bladder fullness through visual or audible signals. This allows patients to understand their bladder status and initiate voiding at appropriate times, preventing unsafe pressure buildup while maintaining the benefits of pudenal nerve stimulation.
2Productivity
If Foley catheters are used for urinary drainage, then continuous bladder emptying is achieved, but patients face constant infection risk and require carrying drain bags
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the harmful Foley catheter from the system and replaces it with a non-invasive pudenal nerve stimulation approach combined with real-time bladder fullness monitoring. This eliminates the constant infection risk and the burden of carrying drain bags while maintaining effective urinary drainage through controlled voiding.
3Loss of time
If patients prolong periods between voiding to manage urinary control, then voiding frequency is reduced, but bladder pressure rises above safe levels risking kidney injury
Solution Approach 1:
The real-time feedback system provides visual or audible signals to patients about their bladder fullness status, enabling them to void at appropriate intervals. This prevents both excessive voiding frequency and dangerous pressure buildup by allowing patients to respond to their actual physiological needs rather than following fixed schedules.
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
This system allows for controlled urination and reduces the risk of kidney damage by providing real-time information on bladder fullness, enabling timely voiding and minimizing the need for Foley catheters, thus reducing infection risks and patient burden.
Implementation Method 1
at least two electrodes configured to be implanted in the patient's abdomen to deliver current to the patient's pudenal nerve(s) in the form of an electrical waveform
Data Source
AI summary
A system for controlling urination in a patient includes an implantable controller and an external device. The implantable controller includes circuitry and electrodes for stimulating the pudenal nerves in order to control urination. In addition, the implantable controller includes sensors for determining information on bladder fullness and for transmitting such information to an external device which is used for controlling the implanted controller. The external device will display when bladder filling exceeds a safe threshold level, allowing the patient and a caregiver to take appropriate steps to allow the patient to urinate.