I-Corps: Accessory device to improve safety of urinary catheters

I-Corps项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是开发一种医疗设备，提高导尿管的安全性，同时减轻医院工作人员的负担。多达四分之一的住院患者需要导尿管，这相当于美国每年约有3000万次导尿管放置。今天的标准导尿管通过尿道插入膀胱，并在管的末端使用充气气球固定在膀胱内。如果导管被拉扯或被卡住，充气的球囊就会被挤出膀胱，撕裂尿道并破坏周围的解剖结构。拟议中的医疗设备旨在防止这种创伤的发生，这大大提高了数百万使用导尿管的患者的安全性。据估计，美国有多达40万患者经历过创伤性导管拔除，治疗相关并发症的平均费用为1万美元。拟议的技术还可以通过防止创伤性导管拔除和相关并发症，为医院节省大量成本。I-Corps的这个项目是基于一种医疗设备的开发，这种设备可以安装在导尿管中，如果被拉或被卡住，导尿管可以断开。所建议的装置可以沿着导管的长度安装在任何地方，这最大限度地减少了患者身体外可能被拉或卡住的管道的长度。该装置被设计为安全地附着在导管上，并且能够承受超过50N的牵引力。与没有安装该装置的导尿管相比，该装置可以最大限度地提高尿流率，并且不会收缩尿流。此外，该装置在所需的力下断开以防止创伤，并且可以无缝地重新连接以继续使用。这个原型还可以让尿液排出，同时防止水从气球中逸出。目前正在进行研究，以尽量减少感染风险，确定最佳的断开力，并确保最佳的尿液排出可能的碎片。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of a medical device that improves the safety of urinary catheters while reducing burden on hospital staff. Up to one in four hospitalized patients require a urinary catheter, which equates to about thirty million catheter placements in the U.S. each year. Today’s standard urinary catheter is inserted into the bladder through the urethra and is anchored inside the bladder using an inflatable balloon at the end of the tube. If the catheter is pulled or snagged, the inflated balloon is forced out of the bladder, tearing the urethra and damaging the surrounding anatomy. The proposed medical device is designed to prevent this trauma from occurring, which drastically improves the safety of urinary catheters for the millions of patients that use them. It is estimated that up to 400,000 patients in the US experience a traumatic catheter removal, and the average cost of treating the associated complications is $10,000. The proposed technology also may provide significant cost-savings to the hospital by preventing traumatic catheter removals and the associated complications.This I-Corps project is based on the development of a medical device that may be installed into a urinary catheter that allows the catheter to disconnect if pulled or snagged. The proposed device may be installed anywhere along the length of the catheter, which minimizes the length of tubing outside of the patient’s body that can be pulled or snagged. The device is designed to securely attach to the catheter tube and is able to withstand traction forces of over 50N. The device maximizes urine flow rate and does not constrict the flow as compared to a catheter that does not have the device installed. Further, the device disconnects at a desired force to prevent trauma and may be seamlessly reconnected for continued use. The prototype also allows urine to drain while preventing water from escaping the balloon. Research is underway to minimize infection risk, identify the optimal force for disconnection, and ensure optimal drainage of urine with possible debris.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.