Urinary Catheter with Segmented Material Zones

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current urinary catheters face challenges in achieving optimal flexibility and rigidity characteristics, leading to difficulties in navigation and comfort during insertion, particularly in male users, and are often costly to produce.

Innovation Solution

A urinary catheter with a tubular shaft formed from two materials with different properties, arranged in distinct zones along its length, featuring varying thickness and width, and a gradual transition between these zones to provide uniform sections with different hardness and flexibility, facilitating easier insertion and manipulation while reducing kinking and deformation.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Strength

If the catheter is made stiff and rigid, then it is easier to push and control during insertion and resists kinking, but it has difficulty navigating narrow passages and causes pain and injury to the user

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproverigidityVSAvoidpain and injury

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The catheter shaft is divided into multiple sections along its length, each with different material compositions and mechanical properties. The distal section is made softer and more flexible to navigate curved passages and reduce trauma, while proximal sections are stiffer for easier manipulation and control during insertion.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different sections of the catheter shaft are赋予 different local properties through varying material composition and structure. The distal end has softer, more compliant material to interact gently with tissue, while proximal portions have stiffer material for structural support and ease of handling, creating optimal properties at each location.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Object-affected harmful factors

If the catheter is made soft, then it navigates narrow passages easily and reduces pain, but it is difficult to push and control from the rear end during insertion

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepain and injuryVSAvoidcontrol during insertion

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Device complexity

If a compromise is used for catheter stiffness, then it is neither soft nor stiff, but it is not optimal for maneuverability and also not optimal for reducing pain and discomfort

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecatheter uniformityVSAvoidmaneuverability

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

4Ease of operation

If cutouts and flexible sections are provided in the catheter, then flexibility is improved, but the catheter becomes very difficult and costly to produce

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveflexibilityVSAvoidproduction cost

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The catheter shaft is constructed using composite materials with different polymer compositions in different sections. This allows variation in mechanical properties along the length without requiring complex geometric features like cutouts, enabling flexible sections to be achieved through material selection rather than structural modification, thus simplifying manufacturing.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #40Composite materials

Solution Approach 2:

The material composition parameters are varied along the length of the catheter shaft to achieve different flexibility characteristics. By changing the polymer blend ratios, crosslinking density, or material formulation in different sections, the desired flexibility gradient is achieved through material parameter adjustment rather than complex structural design, reducing manufacturing complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentEP3263167B1Urinary catheter with varying properties

Publication Date: 2023.06.28 WELLSPECT AB

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AI summary

A urinary catheter and a method of its manufacture are disclosed. The urinary catheter comprises a tubular shaft extending between an insertion end and a discharge end, the tubular shaft being formed of at least two materials having different properties. The materials are arranged substantially separated from each other in distinct zones (ZS,ZH), wherein at lesdt one of these distinct zones extends over essentially the entire length of the tubular shaft and at least one of the width and thickness of said zones varies over the length of the tubular shaft, to form two or more uniform sections (S,H) of the tubular shaft having various relative amounts of said materials, and wherein at least one transition between two such uniform sections is formed by at least one transition section (T) providing a gradual transition between the uniform sections. The catheter can e.g. be produced by intermittent extrusion.