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Publication Number
US-11771868-B2
Publication Date
2023-10-03
Expiration Date
Abstract
An enhanced tubular sleeve for handling a urinary catheter including a number of features that render usage of urinary catheters much easier and reduce discomfort. The sleeve may be formed of bonded sheets of flexible material having rounded distal ends. Or, the sheets may only be bonded in a proximal portion with their distal portions left unattached. In still another version the distal end of one sheet terminates shorter than the distal end of the other sheet.
Core Innovation
The invention relates to a gripping sleeve for handling a urinary catheter. The sleeve comprises a pair of flexible flat sheets of material having textured inner or outer surfaces, each having proximal and distal ends that define a longitudinal axis therebetween, and the sheets are bonded together at longitudinal edges to form a sleeve that may be expanded into a tubular shape sized to loosely receive a urinary catheter so the catheter passes loosely through open proximal and distal ends. The sleeve is configured to loosely surround the urinary catheter for sliding movement therethrough and to assist a user in handling the urinary catheter.
Proximal portions of the longitudinal edges are bonded while at least some distal portions of the longitudinal edges extending to the distal ends are not bonded, resulting in two separated flaps. The distal ends are laterally-oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, and the distal ends transition to rounded portions just before the distal ends, thereby avoiding discrete corners. In further embodiments, one sheet’s distal end terminates 1–3 mm shorter than the other, creating offset distal ends.
Additional embodiments include textured surfaces to increase grip/friction and configurations that enable an “inchworm” advancement technique while maintaining a sanitary barrier and avoiding direct hand contact with the slippery catheter. The disclosed embodiments also describe using one or two sleeves on a single catheter. Overall, the sleeve geometry is designed to expand into a tube that remains a sanitary barrier around the catheter while allowing easy sliding movement for handling the urinary catheter.
Claims Coverage
The document includes two independent claims (clm-00001 and clm-00011). Across these claims, the main inventive features number approximately four to six categories, centered on a tubular gripping sleeve formed from bonded flexible flat sheets with textured surfaces, loose catheter reception, laterally oriented perpendicular distal ends, and distal end/bonding configurations that create rounded portions and/or separated flaps for user comfort while enabling sliding movement.
Textured, bonded flexible flat-sheet sleeve expandable into a loose tube
A pair of flexible flat sheets of material having textured inner or outer surfaces, with proximal and distal ends defining a longitudinal axis, bonded together at longitudinal edges to form a sleeve that may be expanded into a tubular shape sized to loosely receive a urinary catheter such that the catheter passes loosely through open proximal and distal ends, the sleeve being configured to loosely surround the urinary catheter for sliding movement and to assist a user in handling the urinary catheter.
Distal longitudinal edges not bonded to form separated flaps with rounded distal ends
Sheets that are bonded along proximal portions of the longitudinal edges, while at least some of the distal portions of the longitudinal edges all the way to the distal ends are not bonded to result in two separated flaps, the distal ends being laterally-oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, and the distal ends transitioning to rounded portions just before the distal ends.
Laterally-oriented, perpendicular distal ends configured for easy sliding
The distal ends being laterally-oriented perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, having a length sufficient such that when expanded into a tubular shape the catheter may easily slide therethrough, with the sleeve configured to loosely surround the urinary catheter for sliding movement and to assist a user in handling the urinary catheter.
Rounded transitions just before distal ends
The longitudinal edges transition to rounded portions just before the distal ends so that, when the sleeve is expanded into a tubular shape, the catheter slides through the open proximal and distal ends while the sleeve assists a user in handling the urinary catheter.
Both independent claims cover a urinary catheter gripping sleeve formed from two flexible flat sheets with textured inner or outer surfaces that are bonded along longitudinal edges to create an expandable tubular sleeve sized to loosely receive the catheter for sliding movement. The claim coverage emphasizes distal end and edge shaping via laterally oriented, perpendicular distal ends, rounded portions near the distal ends, and, in one independent claim, unbonded distal longitudinal edge portions that form two separated flaps.
Stated Advantages
Reduce user discomfort when handling an intermittent urinary catheter.
Documented Applications
Intermittent urinary catheter handling using a tubular gripping sleeve that maintains a sanitary barrier while enabling an “inchworm” advancement technique and avoiding direct hand contact with the slippery catheter.
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