Indwelling urinary catheter with self-retaining mechanism
OwnerSaid I. Hakky, A-Hamid Hakkiinventors
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A urinary catheter with an improved retaining and activating feature is provided which is a safe device with reduced irritation and discomfort to a patient. The retaining mechanism positioned at the proximal end of the catheter assumes a “close” state for introduction and removal of the catheter into and from the urethral tract, and is transitioned into the “open” state when the catheter is in the bladder by mechanically manipulating the retaining mechanism through the activation mechanism. An actuating linkage wire connected between the retaining mechanism and activation mechanism controllably reciprocates in the channel of the catheter to transition the catheter between the “open” and “closed” states.
Claims10
A urinary catheter, comprising:
- (a) a tubular member having a proximal end and a distal end, said tubular member defining a longitudinal channel extending between said proximal and distal ends, adapted for passage of body fluids therethrough;
- (b) a retaining mechanism insertable in the urinary tract of a patient and positioned at said proximal end of said tubular member, said retaining mechanism being integrally and unitarily formed of a tubular flexible material controllably and selectively assuming an “open” position and a “closed” position;
- (c) an activation mechanism positioned at said distal end of said tubular member and being selectively reconfigurable between alternative fixed configurations wherein each configuration defines an open flow path through said urinary catheter and maintaining each of said fixed configurations devoid of a restraining force member, said activation mechanism being formed of a shape memory composition;
- for maintaining said activation mechanism in at least one of said selected configurations, and
- (d) an actuation linkage comprising a wire extending through said longitudinal channel of said tubular member and coupling said retaining and activation mechanisms each to the other, said actuation linkage reciprocally displaceable in said longitudinal channel bi-directionally relative to said tubular and retaining mechanism under control of said activation mechanism, thereby actuating said retaining mechanism to assume one of said “open” and “closed” positions thereof.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.