Abstract:
A catheter assembly includes a catheter packaged inside of a handle that is attached to a container. The catheter has a distal end portion that includes a valve. The valve includes a protrusion coupled to an exterior of a distal end portion of the catheter. The handle has a cavity with a flange is formed on an interior surface of the cavity. The flange is sized to engage with the protrusion coupled to the catheter, and the valve of the catheter opens when the protrusion of the catheter contacts the flange.

Description:
[0001]    The invention relates to a catheter assembly and more particular to an assembly that can be stored in a compact configuration. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Urinary catheter assemblies for draining the bladder are increasingly used for intermittent as well as indwelling or permanent catheterisation. Typically, urinary catheters are used by patients suffering from urinary incontinence or by disabled individuals like paraplegics or tetraplegics, who may have no control permitting voluntary urination and for whom catheterisation may be the way of urinating. 
         [0003]    Urinary catheters are divided into two major groups of catheters, indwelling catheters and intermittent catheters. Indwelling catheters are typically inserted into the urethra and the bladder by medical personal (i.e. a trained professional, typically a nurse or physician) and has means for retaining the catheter inside the bladder for up to two weeks or more. Indwelling catheters are soft and flexible since they have to remain in the urethra for weeks. Indwelling catheters empty the bladder continuously. 
         [0004]    Intermittent catheters are typically inserted by the user him- or herself and sits only in the urethra and bladder for as long as it take to empty the bladder—e.g. for about 5-10 minutes. Intermittent catheters are used every 4-6 hours to empty the bladder corresponding roughly to the interval that people having no urinary problems will usually go to the bathroom. Intermittent catheters are typically more rigid than indwelling catheters since they have to be inserted by the user him-/herself and since they do not need to sit in the urethra for days or weeks. An important feature for the intermittent catheter is to ease the insertion into the urethra. This is done by providing the intermittent catheter with a low frictious surface. Non-limiting examples of such are hydrophilic coated catheters which are subsequently wetted by a swelling media in order to produce a low friction surface, or oil or water based gel which is applied to the catheter before insertion into the urethra. 
         [0005]    Intermittent urinary catheters may be provided with a hydrophilic coating that needs to be wetted prior to use and thereby absorbs a considerable amount of liquid. Such a hydrophilic coating will provide a very lubricious surface that has very low-friction when the catheter is to be inserted. Hydrophilic coated catheters, where the coating absorbs a considerable amount of liquid for a low frictious surface (swelling degree&gt;100%), will not be suitable for indwelling catheters, because the hydrophilic surface coating would stick inside the mucosa of the urethra if left inside the body for a longer period, due to the hydrophilic coating transforming from being highly lubricious when fully wetted to being adhesive when the hydration level of the coating is reduced. 
         [0006]    This invention relates to intermittent catheters with a hydrophilic coating of the kind that is wetted prior to use to absorb a considerable amount of liquid and to provide a very lubricious surface. 
       Description of Related Art 
       [0007]    WO2013029620 discloses a catheter kit comprising a catheter and a urine bag stored in a package wherein flow is prevented between the catheter and urine bag when stored but enabled when the kit is used. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    The invention relates to a catheter assembly with a handle telescopically connected to the catheter. This allows the catheter assembly to assume at least three well-defined configurations, a storage configuration, a coupling configuration and a use-configuration. 
         [0009]    In the storage configuration, the assembly is compact and the handle receives the distal end of the catheter inside it. In the coupling configuration, the handle is extended to make room for connecting a collecting bag or tube to the handle, but the catheter is still stored inside the package in a sealed condition. In the use configuration, the package can be removed from the catheter and the catheter is ready-to-use. This assembly allows the user to prepare the assembly completely, including connecting a collecting bag or tube to the assembly, and still keep the catheter sterilely stored. Only when the user is ready, the sterile seal to the catheter is broken and the catheter can be removed from the package and used. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
         [0010]      FIG. 1  illustrates a catheter assembly according to the invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  illustrates a close-up of the handle in a storage configuration. 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  illustrates a close-up of the handle in a coupling configuration. 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  illustrates a close-up of the handle in a use-configuration. 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  illustrates a catheter assembly in a sequence of opening. 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  illustrates a catheter assembly in a sequence of re-closing. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0016]    The invention relates to a catheter assembly having at least three configurations, a storage configuration, a coupling configuration and a use-configuration, the assembly comprising a package and a catheter, the package having a container defining a first cavity for receiving the catheter in the storage configuration and in the coupling configuration, the catheter having a handle detachably attached to the container, the handle being telescopically connected to the catheter, the handle being provided with a second cavity, so that the handle in the storage configuration is configured to receive a distal end of the catheter, the handle being configured to receive a connector to a bag or tube in the coupling configuration and in the use configuration, the catheter being provided with a valve in the distal end, the valve being configured to cooperate with means functioning as a stop in the handle so that the valve remains closed in the storage configuration and in the coupling configuration, and opens, when the catheter assembly is brought from the coupling configuration to the use-configuration. 
         [0017]    An assembly as described above provides the opportunity for attaching a tube or collecting bag to the catheter assembly, while the sterility of the catheter is still maintained. The second cavity includes the distal part of the catheter during storage and can be used for attaching a urine bag during use. The connection of the collecting bag or the tube to the catheter assembly is easier with an assembly as claimed, because the user does not need to worry about where to put the catheter as the collecting bag or tube is connected. The catheter is still sterilely stored inside the container and the container can be put on a table or in the user&#39;s lap during connection without any risk of infecting the catheter or spilling the swelling medium on the user&#39;s clothes. 
         [0018]    In the following, whenever referring to a proximal end of an element of the invention, the referral is to the end adapted for insertion. Whenever referring to the distal end of an element, the referral is to the end opposite the insertion end. In other words, the proximal end is the end closest to the user, when the catheter is to be inserted and the distal end is the opposite end—the end furthest away from the user when the catheter is to be inserted. The same definitions apply to the package and container—the proximal end is the end storing the proximal end of the catheter and the distal end is the opposite end. 
         [0019]    The catheter described in this application may be used as a urinary catheter. 
         [0020]    The catheter comprises a main tubular part extending from the distal end to the proximal end. The tip is positioned in the proximal end of the catheter and is provided as a rounded closed end of the tube constituting the main part of the catheter. Usually catheters used for urinary drainage are from size 8 FR to size 18 FR. FR (or French size or Charriere (Ch)) is a standard gauge for catheters approximately corresponding to the outer circumference in mm. More accurately, the outer diameter of the catheter in mm corresponds to FR divided by 3. Thus, 8 FR corresponds to a catheter with an outer diameter of 2.7 mm and 18 FR corresponds to a catheter with an outer diameter of 6 mm. 
         [0021]    Catheters of this invention may prior to use be provided with a hydrophilic coating so as to impart a low-friction insertion. 
         [0022]    In one embodiment, the catheter is a telescopic catheter meaning that the catheter itself comprises an inner catheter part and an outer catheter part connected by a coupling, so that the inner part can be telescopically extended with respect to the outer part. The catheter may thus correspond to SpeediCath Compact Male® marketed by Coloplast A/S. 
         [0023]    The first cavity of the catheter package may comprise a medium for activating the hydrophilic surface coating of the catheter. The activating medium may be a water based substance, such as sterile water, saline-solution, or any water based liquid. Furthermore, the activating medium may be in the form of a vapour contributing material, such as a wetted sponge, woven or non-woven material comprising a vapour contributing liquid. By introducing a vapour contributing material into the package, the vapour will over time hydrate the hydrophilic coating ensuring that the coating is activated and that the hydrophilic coating provides a low-friction surface for the catheter. 
         [0024]    In an embodiment, an insertable part of the catheter is provided with a hydrophilic coating. In this embodiment, the cavity of the container may be adapted to receive the insertable part of the catheter. 
         [0025]    In an embodiment, the valve is provided with valve opening means that cooperates with the means functioning as a stop in the proximal end of the handle. The cooperation between the valve opening means and the stop ensures that the valve is only opened when the catheter is extended to the stop. 
         [0026]    The means functioning as a stop may be provided as an inwardly extending flange at the proximal end of the valve. The valve opening means may be provided as a protrusion extending in the radial direction positioned proximally of the valve seat. 
         [0027]    In an embodiment, the catheter is provided with a seal surrounding the distal end of the catheter so as to prevent urine from flowing out between the handle and the catheter at the distal end of the catheter. 
         [0028]    In an embodiment, the handle is provided with a seal at the distal end. The seal assists in keeping the valve closed during sterilization where the pressure inside the package may increase. 
         [0029]    In an embodiment, the catheter and container are provided with a snap-fit for attaching the container to the catheter. In a related embodiment, the catheter is provided with a groove at the distal end for cooperating with a ridge provided at the distal end of the container. As long as the distal end of the catheter is positioned inside the cavity of the handle—e.g. in storage configuration and coupling configuration—the ridge of the container is prevented from releasing itself from the groove at the catheter. When the catheter has been telescopically extended completely out of the cavity, the ridge will be able to release itself from the groove, because it is allowed to move slightly radially outwards with respect to the catheter. This releases the ridge from the groove and thus the container can be removed from the catheter. The cooperation between the catheter and container may of course be done by other means—e.g. the ridge may be positioned at the catheter and the groove at the container. 
         [0030]    A snap-fit ensures that the catheter is completely extended before the container can be removed. This means that the snap-fit assists in ensuring that the valve in the catheter is opened and further that the seal between the catheter and the cavity of the handle is positioned correctly prior to use. Thus, urine drained into the catheter can escape through the valve and will be prevented from escaping between the handle and the catheter. 
         [0031]    In an embodiment of the invention, the handle is configured to receive a male luer. Connections to bags or tubes may often comprise a male luer. By configuring the handle to directly receive a male luer, the assembly can be directly coupled to many collecting bags or tubes. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
       [0032]    Initially, it shall be noted that the figures are schematic illustrations intended only to address the principles and functions of the catheter assembly according to the invention and are not to be considered limiting to the scope of the attached claims. Furthermore, the figures and particularly the individually illustrated elements are not necessarily to scale, neither individually nor in relation to each other 
         [0033]      FIG. 1  illustrates the catheter assembly  1  in a storage configuration. The assembly comprises a package  2  with a container  3  and a catheter  4  with a handle  5 . The container  3  comprises a neck portion  3   a  that fits tightly around a distal part of the catheter  4 . In the storage configuration, the catheter assembly is compact when compared to the use configuration because the handle of the catheter is telescopically collapsed with respect to the catheter and the neck portion  3   a  of the container. In other words, the distal part of the catheter and the neck portion  3   a  are received inside the handle as illustrated in the figure. The catheter  4  has a proximal insertion end  6  provided with eyelets  7  functioning as inlets for the urine. The distal end  8  of the catheter is inside the cavity  9  of the handle  5 . 
         [0034]      FIG. 2  illustrates a close-up of the handle  5  in the storage configuration. The handle  5  is provided with an inwardly extending flange  10  functioning as a stop at the proximal end of the handle. The flange  10  cooperates with a valve  11  positioned in the distal end of the catheter. The valve  11  has a valve seat  12  providing the closure and a seal  13  so that the valve is liquid tight when it is closed—as in the position of  FIG. 2 . The valve is further provided with valve opening means in form of a protrusion  14  at the proximal end of the valve for cooperating with the means functioning as a stop in form of the flange  10  of the handle. 
         [0035]      FIG. 3  illustrates a close-up of the handle  5  in the coupling configuration. The cavity  9  of the handle provides room for a connector—e.g. a male luer—on a tube or a collecting bag. The figure shows that the valve  11  is still closed; the valve seat  12  is in the closed position. Thus, the catheter is still sealed by the seal  13 . Furthermore, in this position the container  3  is prevented from being removed from the catheter  2 . This appears from the figure as the neck portion  3   a  is snap-locked to the seal on the distal end of the catheter  15  by a ridge  16  on the container and a groove  17  in the seal. 
         [0036]      FIG. 4  illustrates a close-up of the handle  5  in the use configuration. The cavity  9  of the handle provides room for e.g. a male luer on a tube or a collecting bag as is easily seen in the figure. The figure shows that the valve  11  is open; the valve seat  12  is moved away from the seal  13  due to the protrusion  14  being in contact with the flange  10  of the handle. Thus, liquid (urine) can flow through the catheter and into the handle as indicated at  18 . In the use configuration illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the container  3  can be removed from the catheter  2 , because the ridge  16  is no longer within the handle  5 , but is able to move slightly radially outwards and thus release the groove  17 . 
         [0037]      FIG. 5  illustrates the handle  5  in a sequence of opening. The left-most figure illustrates the catheter assembly in storage configuration, where the assembly is compact. The right-most figure illustrates the catheter, when it is ready to use. 
         [0038]      FIG. 6  illustrates the handle  5  in a sequence of re-closing. The left-most figure illustrates the catheter assembly in a use-condition, the catheter is telescopically extended with respect to the handle. The right-most figure illustrates the catheter assembly in a re-closed position that corresponds to the storage configuration. In this position the catheter assembly is completely resealed and can therefore be stored in a bag for discarding later.