SBIR Phase I: An Electronically Activated Antimicrobial Catheter

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This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project advances a new approach for reducing infection rates associated with medical devices. The global urinary catheters market in 2013 was estimated at $2.4 billion, and the United States market was $1.1 billion. The average resulting healthcare system treatment cost related to catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) is estimated between $500 and $1,000 for each infection or between $500 million and $1 billion annually for the total market. This project will support development of a Foley catheter that is expected to significantly reduce the incidence of these CAUTIs. The intellectual merit of this project is the development of a novel technology that results in the release of a high concentration of antimicrobial silver ions near the surface of the device. In this project, we will generate an antimicrobial Foley catheter that incorporates the company's proprietary technology so as to provide for significantly improved antimicrobial control compared to existing devices. The objective of this Phase I project is to produce an electronically activated catheter that will provide a minimum of 3-log additional reduction in bacterial count over the current market-leading antimicrobial catheter, for all bacterial species tested.