bacteria biofilm indwelling catheter

First New Urinary Catheter for 80 Years to Be Revealed

The inventors of a new catheter claim it could solve one of “the biggest problems” in community nursing and reduce discomfort, embarrassment and complications for millions of patients.  They are nearing the final stages of developing their new Flume Catheter, which they hope will solve many of the common problems associated with current models, and are calling on nurses to help them with their ongoing research.  Their design, which was also developed with input from community nurses, is less likely to block and also less of an infection risk than older models, according to the clinicians and engineers behind it. Read more.

Source: Nursing Times, November 15, 2017

Catheters for Managing Urinary Incontinence

catther in place in a male

Diagram of an intermittent catheter in place in a male for Clean Intermittent Catheterization (CIC).

There are three types of catheter products that are used for managing urinary incontinence: indwelling (sometimes called a Foley) catheters, suprapubic catheters, and  intermittent catheters. The process of catheterization prevents a difficult-to-empty bladder from becoming overly full and backing up into the kidneys.  This prevents kidney damage because these catheter drains urine from the bladder.Continue reading