Non-Bladder Invasive Urethral Catheter System
A non-bladder invasive urethral catheter system is provided as a system of apparatuses that provide a means relieving a user's urinary incontinence issues while reducing localized compression to the walls of their urethra. The non-bladder invasive urethral catheter system provides a more convenient and less intrusive means of enabling individuals suffering from urinary incontinence to live an ordinary life. The non-bladder invasive urethral catheter system provides the user with comfort and increased mobility and permits the user to maintain the indwelling catheter during urination. The apparatus blocks urine flow and leakage while installed within a user. The non-bladder invasive urethral catheter system utilizes several urethral catheters that are differentiated by the positioning of a urethral balloon element on the elongated body of the urethral catheter. Through the substitution of the differentiated urethral catheters, the user is able to reduce the trauma to a particular area of their urethra.
The current application claims a priority to the U.S. Provisional Patent application Ser. No. 61/771,231 filed on Mar. 1, 2013.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates generally to a system of catheters, more particularly to a system of non-bladder invasive catheters that are positioned within the user's urethra to help relieve urinary incontinence and stenosis issues while reducing localized irritation to the walls of the urethra.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONUrinary incontinence is the involuntary leakage of urine. This condition has a number causes, including urethral strictures, bladder spasms, damaged muscles or nerves, an overactive bladder, prostate surgery, birth defects, polyuria, an enlarged prostate, radiation or drug treatments to the prostate, multiple sclerosis, spinal bifida, Parkinson's disease, stroke, spinal cord injury, old age, and many other diseases and injuries. Millions of individuals must deal with this problem on a daily basis. Although, methods, devices, and systems are provided in various prior art, many of these existing solution are unable to address the condition of urinary incontinence in a manner that does not incur additional pain, discomfort, and inconvenience to the user.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide a system of non-bladder invasive urethral catheters that are positioned within the user's urethra to help relieve urinary incontinence issues while reducing localized irritation to the walls of the urethra. The non-bladder invasive urethral catheter system provides a more convenient and less intrusive means of enabling individuals suffering from urinary incontinence to live an ordinary lifestyle. The non-bladder invasive urethral catheter system provides the user with comfort and increased mobility by providing a system that is non-bladder invasive and can remain within the user's urethra during urination. The non-bladder invasive urethral catheter system blocks urine flow or leakage until the user is ready to urinate, which in turn eliminates the need for a user to wear a diaper or a similar means of absorbing leakage. The non-bladder invasive urethral catheter system utilizes several urethral catheters that are differentiated by the positioning of a urethral balloon element on the elongated body of the urethral catheter. Through the substitution of the differentiated urethral catheters the user is able to reduce the trauma to a particular area of their urethra.
All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describing selected versions of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.
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The current embodiment of the present invention has several advantages over incontinence devices disclosed in prior art. The present invention blocks urine flow or leakage until the user is ready to urinate, which in turn eliminates the need for a user to wear a diaper or a similar means of absorbing leakage. the present invention permits a user to urinate without having to remove the and reinsert the indwelling catheter, which in turn eliminates or significantly reduces irritation, pain, discomfort, and infections, caused by frequent re-catheterization. This benefit also enables a user to travel without having to carry a large supply of catheters. A user may also participate in a large range of activities with the indwelling catheter such as swimming, and can additionally be removed as needed to allow for other activities such as sexual intercourse.
In the current embodiment of the present invention, the non-bladder invasive urethral catheter system is specifically designed to address male urinary incontinence and stenosis issues. The combination of the elongated body 8 and the insertion tip 4 are particularly sized in order to be inserted through the penile portion of a male user's urethra. In the current embodiment of the present invention the insertion tip 4 is specifically designed to traverse through the male user's urethra but is provided in a manner that prevents the insertion tip 4 from traversing into the bladder. The flexible nature of the elongated body 8 reduces irritation to the base of the user's urethra. During use, the inflated urethral balloon element 27 would form a seal within the user's urethra preventing urine from traversing around the elongated body 8. The user's urine would be directed into the drainage lumen 20 by the at least two urine inlets 21. Once in the drainage lumen 20 the urine would be prevented from being excruciated by the drainage assembly 15. The engagement of the fluid impedance assembly 17 to the drainage port 16 would prevent urine flow out of the present invention until the user was ready to urinate. Although the present invention is specifically designed for use in male users, it should be noted that the component distribution allows configuration for use in female users. In this additional embodiment, the curvature of the curved tapered body 5 would be reduced to accommodate the more linear path of the female urethra. Both the insertion tip 4 and the elongated body 8 would be shortened in order to more adequately conform to the length of a female user's urethra. Furthermore, additional components may be included in order to provide a more secure means of retaining the present invention within female users. These additional components may be associated utilizes the inflation assembly 22, the inflation lumen 26, and/or the urethral balloon element 27 in order to provide a gender specific means of resolving urinary incontinence issues.
In the current embodiment of the present invention, the fluid impedance assembly 17 is described as having two engagement configurations with the drainage port 16, wherein the fluid impedance assembly 17 can be provided with a detachably coupling to the drainage port 16 or as an integrated component built into the drainage port 16. while the preferred embodiment of the present invention describes a pivoting stopper cap 19 that is coupled to the peripheral portion of the drainage port 16, additional embodiments may incorporate a different component system that would either detachably couple to the drainage port 16 or be provided as an integrated component that cooperatively functions with the drainage port 16. In an additional embodiment of the present invention where the fluid impedance assembly 17 is provided as a integrated component, the fluid impedance assembly 17 could be provided as a valve system that can include but are not limited to compression valves and twist valves. In an additional embodiment of the present invention where the fluid impedance assembly 17 is provided with a detachable engagement to the drainage port 16, the fluid impedance assembly 17 can be provided as a stopper or a seal that can include but is not limited to a screw on cap or stopper plug.
In an additional embodiment of the present invention, the at least two urine inlets 21 comprise a narrow end and a wide end. the narrow end and the wide end provide each of the at least two urine inlets 21 with a particular tear drop shape that is able to more efficiently direct fluids into the drainage lumen 20. The tear drop shape provides the narrow end oriented towards the proximal end 10 and with the wide end oriented towards the distal end 9.
Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.
Claims
1. A non-bladder invasive urethral catheter system comprising:
- a first urethral catheter;
- a second urethral catheter;
- a third urethral catheter;
- the first urethral catheter, the second urethral catheter, and the third urethral catheter each comprising
- an elongated body with a drainage lumen and an inflation lumen, wherein said drainage lumen has one or more urine inlets and a drainage assembly, wherein said inflation lumen has a urethral balloon element and a balloon inflation assembly, and wherein said elongated body has an insertion tip;
- said elongated body having a distal end, a proximal end, and a central portion therebetween, wherein said drainage assembly and said balloon inflation assembly are near said distal end, said insertion tip and said one or more urine inlets are near said proximal end, and said urethral balloon element is circumferentially positioned on said central portion between said one or more urine inlets and said drainage assembly;
- sais elongated body being constructed so that said insertion tip is prevented from entering the bladder when said urethral catheter is positioned in a urethra of a user;
- said urethral balloon element being inflated and deflated by means of said balloon inflation assembly, wherein, when said urethral balloon element is positioned in said urethra and is inflated, said urethral balloon element is constructed to form a seal within the user's urethra preventing urine from traversing around said elongated body, to cause urine to flow through said one or more urine inlets, and to cause said urethral
- catheter to remain in said urethra;
- the drainage assembly comprises a drainage port and a fluid impedance assembly;
- the inflation assembly comprises an elongated base and an inflation port;
- the urethral balloon element comprises a fluid chamber and an elastic exterior;
- both the drainage lumen and the inflation lumen being positioned within the elongated body;
- the inflation lumen being peripherally positioned to the drainage lumen;
- the drainage assembly being positioned adjacent to the inflation assembly;
- the inflation assembly being peripherally positioned to the drainage assembly;
- the drainage lumen being positioned between the drainage assembly and the one or more urine inlets;
- the drainage assembly being in fluid communication with the one or more urine inlets by way of the drainage lumen;
- the inflation lumen being positioned between the inflation assembly and the urethral balloon element;
- the inflation assembly being in fluid communication with the urethral balloon element by way of the inflation lumen;
- the one or more urine inlets being peripherally positioned on the elongated body;
- the one or more urine inlets traversing the elongated body into the drainage lumen;
- the urethral balloon element being positioned between to the one or more urine inlets and inflation assembly; and
- the one or more urine inlets being positioned between the insertion tip and the urethral balloon element.
2. The non-bladder invasive urethral catheter system as claimed in claim 1 comprising:
- the first urethral catheter, the second urethral catheter, and the third urethral catheter being different from each other in that the position of said urethral balloon element on said central portion is different among said first urethral catheter, said second urethral catheter, and said third urethral catheter so that each said first urethral catheter, said second urethral catheter, and said third urethral catheter has a urethral balloon element being coincident with a different section of said user's urethra compared to the others, wherein trauma to a particular area of said urethra, caused by said balloon element, is minimized by replacing said first urethral catheter, said second urethral catheter, and said third urethral catheter with each other.
3. The non-bladder invasive urethral catheter system as claimed in claim 2 further comprising said insertion tip being tapered.
4-20. (canceled)
21. A urethral catheter system for inhibiting urinary incontinence, comprising:
- a) a first urethral catheter having an elongated body with a drainage lumen and an inflation lumen, wherein said drainage lumen has one or more urine inlets and a drainage assembly, wherein said inflation lumen has a urethral balloon element and a balloon inflation assembly, and wherein said elongated body has an insertion tip;
- b) said elongated body having a distal end, a proximal end, and a central portion therebetween, wherein said drainage assembly and said balloon inflation assembly are near said distal end, said insertion tip and said one or more urine inlets are near said proximal end, and said urethral balloon element is circumferentially positioned on said central portion between said one or more urine inlets and said drainage assembly;
- c) said elongated body being constructed so that said insertion tip is prevented from entering the bladder when said urethral catheter is positioned in a urethra of a user;
- d) said urethral balloon element being inflated by means of said balloon inflation assembly, wherein said urethral balloon element is constructed to be positioned in said urethra and inflated, to form a seal within the user's urethra preventing urine from traversing around said elongated body, to cause urine to flow through said one or more urine inlets, and to cause said urethral catheter to remain in said urethra; and
- e) said drainage assembly being constructed to allow urine to flow out of said urethral catheter when said drainage assembly is opened and to prevent urine from flowing out of said urethral catheter when said drainage assembly is closed.
22. The urethral catheter system of claim 21 further comprising one or more additional urethral catheters similar to said first urethral catheter except that the structural position of said urethral balloon element on said central portion is different among all said first and said one or more additional urethral catheters so that each structurally different catheter has a urethral balloon element being coincident with a different section of said user's urethra, wherein potential trauma to a particular area of said urethra, caused by said balloon element, is minimized by replacing said first urethral catheter with said one or more additional urethral catheters.
23. The urethral catheter system of claim 22 further comprising said insertion tip having a tapered body.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 25, 2013
Publication Date: Sep 4, 2014
Inventor: Henry Allison BARNETT (Pike Road, AL)
Application Number: 13/926,040