Viveca Biomed has launched an innovative and clinically-proven bladder support device, Contrelle that offers women immediate relief from stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and provides community pharmacy contractors with a way to build a new consumer base, customer loyalty and sales margins. The product, named ‘Contrelle Activgard’, has already recorded millions of sales in Scandinavia over a decade. Read more.
Source: Pharmacy Business, August 24, 2022
While much of the new product development for adult incontinence today has led to thinner and thinner products for light incontinence, Illinois-based NorthShore Care Supply has focused on bringing innovation and dignity to those who suffer from moderate to heavy incontinence. Witnessing family members struggling to manage their incontinence supplies using traditional retail products is what led Adam Greenberg to start up an adult incontinence business while completing his MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in 2002. “At that that time, it was very confusing to shop for premium adult diapers online as everything sounded and looked the same and there was nobody that could help guide my family through this frustrating and embarrassing process,” says Greenberg, owner and president of NorthShore Care Supply. “So I studied up, and quickly became a diaper expert and was able to translate all the clinical specifications designed for nurses and hospitals into a very user friendly format that put families and patients at ease and made them feel like our products had a good chance to provide them the dignity and security that they’d been searching for.” Read more.
Source: Nonwovens Industry, October 17, 2019
Safe Medical Design, a company based in San Francisco, CA, won FDA clearance for its Signal Catheter device. The indwelling foley urinary catheter is designed to help prevent discomfort and injury that can occur if it’s incorrectly placed, an all-too-common occurrence. Indwelling urinary catheters typically have a balloon at the tip that is inflated once it’s within the bladder. This prevents the catheter from sliding out. When the patient is “dry” and no urine is in the catheter, it’s often difficult to tell whether the catheter tip made it into the bladder, at times resulting in premature inflation that can cause serious trauma. The Signal Catheter is made of 100% silicone and it features a mechanism that relieves the pressure inside the balloon if it is improperly positioned and inflated inside the urethra. Read more.
Source: Medgadget, March 1, 2019
Detecting bacterial infestations within the GI system, particularly using low cost methods, takes so much time that treatment is often administered too late. Clostridium difficile (C. diff) is a particular nasty nuisance that kills many frail patients, and even with a hospital lab it can take up to two days to get the results. Researchers at Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) have developed fluorescent microrobots that can spot C. diff in a stool sample within a matter of minutes without relying on expensive laboratory equipment. Read more.
Source: Medgadget, February 15, 2019
Today’s healthcare is full of technology that would seem like science fiction to our grandparents. But this is far from true in every area: some remain woefully neglected by innovation. Hop in a time machine back to ancient Egypt and you would find recognisable examples of the absorbent pads and catheters which are still a mainstay in the management of incontinence today. The earliest known reference to an absorbent pad dates from 4th-century Egypt: the female scientist Hypatia is recorded as having thrown her menstrual rag at a student to ward off his infatuation with her. The pad remained a homemade “product” for many centuries until the 19th century, when manufactured versions of reuseable “antiseptic cotton for absorbing discharges” could be purchased from pharmacies. Disposable pads, first produced by Kotex in 1920, were in widespread use by the late 1930s. Since then, the only major innovation in their design has been the introduction of super absorbent polymers in the 1980s, which have dramatically improved absorbency. Read more.
Source: The Conversation, July 30, 2018
CHICAGO, IL (April 22, 2009) – It is estimated that over 200 million people worldwide are affected by incontinence, which is the loss of bladder and/or bowel control. Due to the stigma surrounding this medical condition, incontinence is under-reported, under-served and options are limited for individuals who cannot be cured. Innovating for Continence: The Engineering Challenge held April 6-8, 2009 in Chicago is the second in a biennial series of international conferences hosted by the Simon Foundation for Continence (Chicago, IL). The conferences are designed to stimulate change by bringing together a unique group of stakeholders to encourage fresh thinking on improving the management of incontinence. Continue reading