Proposed Product
Damage to the spinal cord or multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's can affect the nerves innervating the bladder and the sphincters and prevent normal urination. These patients use clean intermittent self-catheterization (CIS) or an indwelling catheter for emptying their bladder. Both methods can injure the urethra or the bladder and cause chronic urinary tract infections. Such patients, who are mostly wheel-chair users, have to insert and retrieve a catheter to themselves 3-6 times a day, every day.
We came up with an idea of developing a revolutionary bladder drainage device that will be inserted as easily as inserting a catheter, activated by the patient to urinate and exchanged after a period of time.
The "1-insertion" and "1- removal" procedure will minimize the risks and will greatly improve the quality of the patient’s life.
Current Solutions
Patients suffering from urinary retention generally have limited options for draining their bladders. These include using a permanently inserted Foley catheter, or clean intermittent self-catheterization (CIS), or insertion of a suprapubic drainage tube or a surgical intervention named "sphincterotomy" for rendering them fully incontinent. All these options are uncomfortable and inconvenient for the patient or the care giver, have high infection rates, and cause the patient emotional distress.
Market Need
Millions of urethral catheters are used each year. Half of them are for short-term use for draining the bladder for a few days. The other half are for long-term use or for clean intermittent self catheterization (CIS). Lack of a better alternative oblige the use of an indwelling catheter which creates indwelling catheter related infections. Although CIS reduces the infection rates, it adds the risks of traumatic injuries to the urethra or bladder and the inconvenience of inserting a catheter 3-6 times a day all their lifes.
The market needs an alternative to indwelling catheters which are used since the 1950s and CIS since the 1970s. The device we are developing will be able to help millions of patients. It will improve their self-care and independence, minimize the complications seen with indwelling catheters and CIS and will allow better intimacy and sexual activities to them.
Importance
Many patients use CIS for bladder emptying. Such patients, mostly wheel-chair users, insert the catheter themselves or by their helpers 3-6 times a day. Catheter insertion can injure the urethra or the bladder and cause urinary tract infections (UTI). To prevent renal function deterioration, which was the leading cause of death in spinal cord injury patients, they continue using them because of lack of a better alternative. UTI related urosepsis is still a major reason for the death of these patients. The reasons for CIS caused UTI are poor and traumatic catheterization technique, incomplete bladder emptying and inadequate fluid intake. Our device will be the biggest disrupting technology since the invention of the Foley Catheter in the 1950's and CIS since 1970's. It will be inserted as easily as a catheter, activated by the patient to urinate and exchanged after a period of time.
Stage of Development
Conceptual designing.
Intellectual Property
A Provisional Patent Application has been filed at the US Patent Office to protect the invention.
Use of Funds
The funds obtained will be used for advancing to more developed designs, engineering and optimization of the design, mechanical testing of the early prototypes, quality management and initiating the regulatory process as well as for overhead costs and IP protection.
Lead Investor(s)
n/a
Project By:
Valentin P.
R&D Engineer @Innoventions Ltd. responsible for conceptual designing, prototyping and lab trials of medical devices, vascular and urological implants.
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