Urinary Catheter Coupler With Calibrated Traction Release
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing urinary catheter systems are prone to traumatic injuries due to inadvertent traction, particularly when the drainage tubing catches on hospital beds or furniture, leading to urethral trauma and complications such as bleeding and urinary incontinence.
Innovation Solution
A medical tubing coupler with a resilient O-ring and slip-off stalk design that separates at a predetermined tensile force, paired with a male-female fitting that maintains a seal under misalignment, and includes an adapter to deflate the Foley catheter balloon, preventing significant urethral trauma.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If the drainage tubing is made long to reach the drainage bag, then the drainage system can be properly connected, but the tubing becomes prone to catching on furniture and transmitting traumatic forces to the catheter
Solution Approach 1:
The coupler is divided into two separable parts: a first part that remains attached to the catheter and a second part that connects to the drainage tubing. This segmentation allows the long drainage tubing to be disconnected from the catheter side, eliminating the transmission path for traumatic forces while maintaining proper drainage connection.
2Reliability
If the coupler maintains a strong seal to prevent leakage, then drainage integrity is maintained, but the coupler resists disconnection during traumatic pullout events
Solution Approach 1:
The coupler employs dynamic characteristics where the resilient O-ring maintains a strong sealing force during normal operation to prevent leakage, but the connection can be dynamically disconnected when tensile force exceeds the calibrated threshold. The O-ring's elasticity allows it to deform and release from the detent groove under excessive force, enabling safe disconnection.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupler is designed with calibrated parameters where the O-ring's tensile strength and the detent groove geometry are specifically engineered to allow disconnection at predetermined force levels. The resilient properties of the O-ring allow it to maintain seal integrity under normal pressure differentials but yield when subjected to traumatic pullout forces exceeding the calibrated threshold.
3Reliability
If the O-ring is positioned to seal effectively under misalignment, then sealing is maintained during bending, but the O-ring may be levered out under tensile force
Solution Approach 1:
The detent groove acts as an intermediary mechanical feature that works with the O-ring to provide both sealing and controlled disconnection. The groove geometry is calibrated to allow the O-ring to seal effectively under misalignment while preventing the O-ring from being levered out under normal tensile forces, but allowing disconnection when force exceeds the calibrated threshold.
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 coupler effectively prevents traumatic catheter pullout by disconnecting at a calibrated force, maintaining the drainage system integrity while allowing safe disconnection and balloon deflation, reducing the risk of urethral trauma and complications.
Implementation Method 1
a resilient O-ring circumferentially surrounding a base of the nose and protruding radially from the nose
Data Source
AI summary
A safe disconnect coupler for medical tubing includes a coupler body that mates with a stalk, the coupler body having protruding cylindrical male nose portion that mates into a receptacle of the stalk. A resilient O-ring around a base of the nose mates into a circumferential detent groove in the receptacle. The O-ring and detent groove are shaped such that the nose and stalk are held slightly apart, and a small, calibrated (e.g., 1 N) tensile force is needed to pull them apart. However, when a bending force is applied to the coupler assembly, the nose bears against the inside of the stalk, keeping the two aligned such the bending force alone will not pry them apart. For a Foley catheter, an additional adapter can open a balloon injection port when pulled, and/or the coupler can be kitted with the drain bag.