A urinary catheter can be retained inside the body for extended periods. A catheter mating device can connect to the catheter to move the catheter inside of the body or remove it from the body. The catheter includes: (1) a tube having a lumen and an outer surface, (2) a retainer that may have an attachment portion attached to the tube and a flap or handle-shaped structure attached to the attachment portion, wherein the retainer has a first, contracted position and a second, extended position, and (3) an bladder retention structure at the catheter's distal end, wherein the bladder retention portion may comprise a flap or a handle-shaped portion and that has a first, compressed position and a second, extended position. The retainer and/or bladder retention structure each are configured to retain the catheter in the proper position inside of a user's body.

A urinary catheter may include a catheter shaft and a connector coupled with the proximal end of the catheter shaft. The connector may have a first arm ending in a fluid outlet configured to allow urine to flow out of the urinary catheter and a second arm with an aperture and ending in an inflation inlet used for introducing inflation fluid into the urinary catheter. The catheter may further include a primary lumen, an inflation lumen, a retention balloon mounted to the catheter shaft proximal to a fluid inlet and over a distal filling hole, and a pilot balloon mounted on the second arm of the connector over the aperture. The pilot balloon inflates at an inflation pressure that is higher than the inflation pressure of the retention balloon and lower than a predetermined pressure threshold.

A coated urinary catheter or urinary stent device includes a urinary catheter or stent which, in a deployed position, includes or defines a protective surface area and a protected surface area and a coating upon at least a portion of the protective surface area. The coating includes a lubricant and an antimicrobial and/or pH buffering material. The device is configured such that, upon application of negative pressure to the catheter or stent, tissue of a urinary tract of a patient conforms or collapses onto the protective surface area and is thereby prevented or inhibited from occluding one or more protected drainage holes, ports or perforations of the catheter or stent.

A urinary catheter insertion alignment device for use by a female patient is disclosed. The urinary catheter insertion alignment device is molded to the patient's vaginal anatomy using impression material while an intermittent urinary catheter is inserted into the urethral orifice. Once the urinary catheter insertion alignment device has hardened, the intermittent urinary catheter is removed therefrom. Thereafter, the urinary catheter insertion alignment device may be fitted to the vaginal anatomy by the patient, which positions the passageway therethrough (formerly occupied by the urinary catheter in place during the molding operation) directly over the urethral orifice. The patient may then easily insert an intermittent urinary catheter (of a size smaller than that used during the molding operation) through the passageway, into the urethral orifice, and into the bladder for drainage of the bladder.

Urinary catheters and methods for preventing bacterial infections.

An indwelling catheter includes: a catheter configured to be indwelled in a living body; a catheter hub that holds and fixes the catheter; and a valve mechanism provided in a lumen of the catheter hub. The valve mechanism includes: a first member including a slit through which an inner needle is insertable, and a first liquid passage hole through which liquid is passable, a second member arranged adjacent to the first member and including a needle insertion hole through which the inner needle is insertable, and a second liquid passage hole through which the liquid is passable, and an operation member configured to move the first member and the second member relative to each between an open state and a closed state.

The Foley Catheter Cap molded from medical grade silicone to provide a stable base for the insertion of an indwelling “Foley” catheter so that tearing of the urethra does not occur. Since the head of a penis contains no sweat glands of any kind, there is no buildup of fluids beneath the Foley Catheter Cap to occur which thereby precludes an environment under the Foley Catheter Cap which could be conducive for infections to grow. Because of this the benefits of a Foley Catheter Cap for male patients required to have an indwelling catheter for extended periods of time greatly outweigh any latent risk while the omission of the proposed Foley Catheter Cap exposes male patients to the potential of the well-documented serious injury and follow-on reconstructive surgery caused by Ventral Erosion of the penis.

A catheter package includes an elongated case. A cap is attached to the case by a flexible strap. The case receives the tubing portion of a catheter. The catheter has a funnel attached to the tubing. The funnel has a seal portion releasably engageable with the case. The cap is releasably engageable with the funnel to retain the funnel in contact with the case. A user can flip the cap off the funnel to permit removal of the catheter from the case. The funnel may include ridges or a tactile ring to improve the user's grip on the funnel. An adaptor may be disposed between the funnel and case to allow mating of different cross sectional shapes of the funnel and case. A hydration device may be inserted in the case. Alternately, a tubular liner may be inserted in the case to separate liquid water on the outside of the liner from the catheter tubing on the inside of the liner. A window in the liner mounts a patch of filter material that permits the passage of water vapor into the interior of the liner.

A closed-system urinary catheter with a low viscosity gel lubrication is disclosed. The system has an uncoated catheter, but a hydrophilic coated catheter could be used. The low viscosity lubricating gel within the sachet uniformly coats the catheter when the sachet is ruptured just prior to use. A low viscosity lubrication gel could alternatively be place in the area inside the sheath and external to the catheter. Therefore, the variability that occurs with a hydrophilic catheter or the areas of a non-lubricated catheter with the higher viscosity gel catheters is avoided.

Drainage devices and microactuator systems adapted to be incorporated into drainage devices to provide a self-clearing capability for reducing obstructions in the drainage devices and/or a self-monitoring capability to confirm the overall operating condition of the drainage devices and their microactuators. Such a microactuator system includes a microactuator having a base, a cantilever comprising a flexure extending from the base and a plate structure at a distal end of the flexure, a sensing element on the flexure for sensing deflection of the cantilever, and a device for inducing an oscillating deflection of the cantilever relative to the base.