A disposable medical device assembly for measuring a physiological parameter in a urinary or gastrointestinal tract of a mammal being is disclosed, comprising a probe, such as a catheter, for insertion into a bodily opening of the mammal being. The probe comprises at least one sensor, such as a pressure sensor. The medical device further comprises an energy source, in the form of a biofuel cell, connected to the at least one sensor.

The present disclosure relates generally to using detected bladder events for the diagnosis of urinary incontinence or the treatment of lower urinary tract dysfunction. A system includes a sensing device comprising a pressure sensor to directly detect a pressure within a bladder. The sensing device is adapted to be located within the bladder. The system also includes a signal processing device to: receive a signal indicating the detected pressure within the bladder; detect a bladder event based the detected pressure within the signal; and characterize the bladder event as a bladder contraction event or a non-contraction event. The characterization of the bladder event can be used in the diagnosis of urinary incontinence or the treatment of lower urinary tract dysfunction.

A catheter for measuring temperature of a fluid in a body cavity includes a catheter body having a proximal end and an opposite distal end with a tip; an inflow lumen; an outflow lumen; and a temperature sensor lumen having a temperature sensor. The temperature sensor lumen is arranged closer to the outflow lumen and to the inflow lumen in the catheter body. The temperature sensor includes a sensing element positioned at the tip of the distal end to measure a temperature of a fluid in a body cavity when the distal end of the catheter body is inserted into a body cavity.

A bladder fullness monitoring system includes a controller and an active optical sensor that is affixed to a patient's bladder. The sensor emits light onto the bladder and further detects light reflected from the bladder, in order to generate an output signal that indicates an amount of emitted light was reflected back to the detector. The controller is coupled to the optical sensor to receive and interpret the output signals, e.g., to determine when the bladder is full. The controller may be operatively coupled to a urinary control apparatus which uses the output signals to trigger urination in patients who have lost the ability to voluntarily urinate. Embodiments are particularly useful for monitoring bladder fullness in patients who have lost bladder sensation and/or the ability to voluntary urinate and rely on a urinary control apparatus in order to urinate.

In one example, the disclosure relates to a catheter system comprising an elongated body defining a lumen where the elongated body comprises a proximal portion and a distal portion. An anchoring member may be positioned on the proximal portion of the elongated body. The system further comprising at least one sensor configured to be coupled to the elongated body where the at least one sensor may be configured to sense one or more parameters of a fluid within the lumen of the elongate body. Memory configured to be coupled to the elongated body where the memory may be configured to store sensor calibration information. The system configured to calibrate the at least one sensor based on the sensor calibration information stored by the memory.

A method of assessing bladder storage anomalies via utilization of an indwelling urinary drainage catheter is provided. A urodynamic assessment assembly is provided, the assembly characterized by a pressure sensor for vesical pressure measurement, a processor/controller for receiving, processing and/or displaying select urodynamic patient parameters comprising sensed/monitored pressure data, and a catheter balloon adaptor for operably uniting the pressure sensor of the urodynamic assessment assembly to a balloon inflation valve of the indwelling urinary drainage catheter, the indwelling urinary drainage catheter operably linked with the urodynamic assessment assembly. Vesical pressure is sensed via the vesical pressure sensor during a bladder emptying event, the bladder emptying event characterized by an application of variable resistance to fluid flow from the bladder via the indwelling urinary drainage catheter with vesical pressure/outlet resistance/flow rate relationships established based upon sensed vesical pressure values.

Urodynamic assessment systems, intravesical devices, and methods of their use are provided. In one embodiment, an intravesical device includes an elastic body including an elongated tube defining a reservoir lumen, and a sensor disposed at least partially in the reservoir lumen and configured to measure or detect one or more parameters. The intravesical device is deformable between a deployment shape for passage of the intravesical device through the urethra into the bladder and a retention shape for preventing voiding of the intravesical device through the urethra.

In general, techniques, methods, systems, and devices for delivering high frequency neurostimulation to control one or more pelvic disorders are described. In one example, a method includes identifying, by a medical device configured to be at least partially implanted in a patient, an indication to inhibit bladder activity. The medical device generates, in response to identifying the indication, electrical stimulation therapy comprising first electrical stimulation pulses comprising a first frequency greater than or equal to about 500 Hertz and less than or equal to about 5,000 Hertz. Further, the medical device delivers the electrical stimulation therapy to a target nerve selected from a group consisting of: a sacral nerve, a pelvic nerve, a tibial nerve, and a pudendal nerve of the patient.

A sensing device can be used for ambulatory urodynamics. The sensing device can include an elongated outer housing constructed of flexible material that can curve within a patients bladder. At least a portion of the outer housing can be filled with a non-compressible fluid. A flexible printed circuit board can be disposed within the outer housing to curve with the outer housing. The printed circuit board can include a pressure sensor, comprising a diaphragm, to collect pressure data; a microcontroller miming control software; and a wireless transmitter to transmit the pressure data. A battery can be disposed within the outer housing and coupled to the printed circuit board. The flexible material of the outer housing is configured to be displaced by a pressure within the patients bladder, the displacement is transmitted through the non-compressible fluid to the pressure sensor that provides the pressure data based on the displacement.

In one embodiment, a device for in vivo tissue evaluation includes an elongated manipulator including an elongated proximal tube and an articulable distal portion, and a sensor provided at a distal end of the articulable distal portion, the sensor including a sensor head configured to be pressed against tissue and measure a reaction force of the tissue.