A Less Traumatic and More Comfortable Urinary Catheter
January 1, 2022City of Hope Engineering, 2021–22
Liaison(s): Dr. Kevin Chan, Dr. Yasmeen Jaber, Dr. Yuman Fong, Dr. Colin Cook
Advisor(s): Lori Bassman
Students(s): Kaitlyn Paulsen (TL), Savanna Beans, Meredith Bloss (S), Kaya Lane (S), George Wang (F), Cindy Wang (F), Jenny Wathankulchat (F)
Indwelling urethral catheters are medical devices used to drain urine from the bladder. The current industry-standard catheter is the Foley catheter, which has remained largely unchanged since its invention in 1935. Foley catheters can cause significant patient discomfort and urethral trauma in the case of an unintentional removal. The team’s goal has been to develop a latex-free, atraumatic, indwelling urethral catheter. The team has proposed a new catheter design that minimizes the possibility of traumatic removal and reduces patient discomfort.