Infection Prevention Urinary Catheter

The goal of the project is to design and develop a urinary catheter that can reliably reduce the incidence of Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTIs).

=Problem Definition=

Background
Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI)
 * CAUTIs are the most common type of nosocomial (hospital-related) infection. About 23% of patients in US hospitals require the use of a urinary catheter. The risk of acquiring a CAUTI increases by about 3-7% each day that an indwelling urinary catheter remains inside the patient.

Value Proposition

 * Improving and saving lives by comfortably and effectively preventing catheter-associated UTI's, the #1 leading cause of nosocomial infections. This new bacteria-flushing catheter will be an innovative approach to the current designs on the market and will reduce the incidence of infection of all catheter users compared to current products.​

Deliverable

 * Develop a catheter design that will reduce bacterial growth and build-up within the urinary tract. The design must be manufacturable on a large scale basis, and it must be adaptable in size.

Specifications
=Design Considerations=

=Project Learning=

=Chosen Design= {| ! scope="col" width="width:30em;" | ! scope="col" width="width:20em;" |

Composition
This design features 3 ports and 3 distinct channels. The largest channel is for waste drainage. The remaining two channels are the same size, with one being for the balloon anchor, and the other for urethra irrigation. The outer profile of the catheter includes a spiral to create space within the urethra.
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How It Works
The catheter was designed to bio-mimic the natural bodily function, urination. To do so, the design allows for an irrigation solution to be injected into the appropriate irrigation port. The flushing solution travels through the catheter tube up to the base of the balloon, where the fluid is released to the urethra. The fluid then spirals down and out of the urinary tract, while establishing contact with the maximum urethral tissue surface area.
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=Validation=

=Team Members=

=Additional Documentation=

Project Schedule



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