External Catheter Device

Abstract

A novel external catheter for use by male patients is disclosed, the catheter comprising a flexible elongated tubular sheath which defines a body portion adapted to surround the male member, the body portion terminating in a coextensive and relatively stiffer dome-shaped distal end having an orifice therethrough allowing the discharge of urine to a remote collecting location. The entire inside length of the body portion is coated with an adhesive gel foam which adhesively contacts and adheres to the underlying skin of the male member so as to maintain the catheter in place. The coating further defines a liquid-tight seal for preventing urine in the dome-shaped distal end from contacting the skin of the male member underlying the body portion. In the preferred inventive embodiment, the body portion is itself longitudinally split along the top thereof such that the catheter can accommodate male members of various sizes.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention generally relates to sanitary urinal devices and particularly concerns an external catheter for utilization by male patients.

The use of external urinal devices for male patients has become increasingly more popular in recent years, such devices taking the place of the common internal catheter or tube which is inserted into the urethral canal of the penis or male member so as to contact the bladder and effect a drain. The convenience of an external catheter as opposed to the common internal catheter tubes is obvious. However, external catheters currently available for use by male patients suffer from a number of drawbacks.

The typical external catheter of the prior art comprises some form of a sheath constructed of flexible rubber, for example, which is adapted to surround the male member, much like a condom. The distal end of such typical catheters normally incorporates an orifice allowing discharge of urine to an external collecting location. With such external catheters as are currently known to the art, the distal end oftentimes twists or rotates relative to the remainder of the sheath, thus obstructing or stopping the flow of urine and rendering the device inoperative, or, at best, poorly operative. Difficulties are also occasioned in attempting to firmly secure the typical external catheter to the male member itself. Obviously, if the tubular sheath of the typical catheter was constructed to have a diameter that was relatively small so as to assure adhesion of the device to the male member, constriction of the urethral canal might result. Similarly, if the diameter of the tubular sheath was made larger, no constriction of the urethral canal would occur, but adhesion of the device to the male member would be deleteriously affected. It is for this reason that the typical external catheter of the prior art must be manufactured in various different sizes to accommodate various sizes of the male member, and this requirement quite naturally increases the cost of the device.

The typical external catheter of the prior art normally must be removed from the member of a male patient at frequent intervals so as to prevent infection or irritation of the sensitive skin of the penis due to leakage of urine. Further, due to such leakage, even if the urine leakage were of a relatively small amount, accurate measurements of urine discharge from a patient over any given period of time cannot readily be effected.

These above-discussed problems, as well as others which are recognized by persons skilled in the art, detracts from the overall beneficial utility of the external catheter as it is now known, and has retarded an even greater widespread acceptance and utilization of the external catheter as a replacement or supplementary mechanism to the common internal catheter tube.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is the primary objective of the instant invention to provide an improved external catheter device for use by male patients, which device does not suffer from the various disadvantages of prior art devices as above-discussed.

It is a further, more specific, yet equally important objective of the instant invention to provide an external catheter that, due to its novel construction, may be manufactured in only a single size, yet can readily accommodate male members of various dimensions.

It is another objective of the instant invention to provide an external catheter for male patients, which catheter will not twist, turn, or constrict urine flow when installed.

Still another objective of the instant invention is the provision of an external catheter for male patients which is maintained in place about the entire length of the male member by means of an adhesive, such external catheter, due to this construction, not requiring frequent removal.

Another objective of the instant invention is the provision of an external catheter device of the type described which effectively seals off any urine leakage from the distal end thereof to the skin of the penis, thus protecting such sensitive skin against infection and/or irritation.

Still a further objective of the instant invention concerns the provision of an external catheter for male patients wherein all leakage of urine is prevented, thus allowing the accurate measurement of the amount of urine discharged from a patient over any given period of time.

An additional objective of the instant invention concerns the provision of an external catheter for male patients which can be economically manufactured.

These objects, as well as others which will become apparent as the description proceeds, are implemented by the instant invention which, as afore-stated, comprises an external catheter for use by male patients. In this respect, it should be appreciated at the outset that the catheter of the instant invention would have beneficial utility for unconscious patients, confused and disoriented patients, patients suffering from urinary incontinence, a patient recovering from major surgery though still unable to ambulate, patients suffering urinary tract infections, and patients of whom the fluid intake and output is to be measured.

In the preferred inventive embodiment, the novel external catheter comprises a flexible elongated tubular sheath constructed of rubber or plastic, for example, which defines a body portion adapted to surround the male member. This body portion terminates in a coextensive and relatively stiffer dome-shaped distal end which has an orifice therethrough allowing the discharge of urine to some remote collecting location.

Importantly, coating means, such as an adhesive gel foam, is disposed substantially along the entire inside length of the body portion for adhesively contacting and adhering to the underlying skin of the male member. In this fashion, the catheter is securely maintained in place about the male member. The coating means provides another extremely important function in that it serves as a liquid-tight seal for preventing urine in the dome-shaped distal end from contacting the sensitive skin of the male member underlying the body portion, and thus irritating or infecting same. Of course, leakage of urine from the catheter is entirely prevented.

In the preferred inventive embodiment, the tubular sheath body portion will be seen to incorporate a longitudinal slit along the top thereof. The provision of this slit is such that the catheter can accommodate male members of various dimensions. In this fashion, only a single size catheter need be provided, thus substantially reducing the cost of manufacture of the device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be better understood and additional features and advantages thereof will be seen from the following detailed description of a preferred inventive embodiment, such description making reference to the appended sheet of drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective illustration, partially broken away for illustrative clarity, of the external catheter of the instant invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view in elevation of the external catheter of the invention taken long lines 2--2 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of the external catheter of the instant invention in use about a male member indicated in dotted lines.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED INVENTIVE EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, the external catheter of the instant invention will be seen to comprise, in its preferred embodiment, a flexible, elongated tubular sheath 10 constructed of a resilient material such as rubber or plastic, this sheath 10 defining a body portion adapted to surround a male member as depicted by the dotted lines and designated by reference numeral 12 in FIG. 3. Body portion 10 terminates in a coextensive and relatively stiffer dome-shaped distal end 14, distal end 14 having an orifice 16 therethrough which allows the discharge of urine to a remote collecting location such as pouch 18 indicated in dotted lines in FIG. 3, via a urine drainage tube 20 likewise constructed of a resilient or rubber material and coupled to the orifice 16 of thee distal end 14 by a nipple connector means 22 or the like.

In the preferred inventive embodiment, the relative stiffness of the dome-shaped distal end 14 as compared with the relative flexibility of the elongated tubular sheath 10 is achieved through the utilization of rubber or resilient material having different cross-sectional thicknesses. Specifically, and as is apparent from an inspection of FIGS. 1 and 2, the cross-sectional thickness of the material utilized to construct the dome-shaped distal end 14 is greater than is the thickness of the similar material utilized to form the elongated tubular sheath or condom-like member 10.

As discussed at the outset, the elongated tubular sheath 10 is adapted to surround the male member or penis 12 during use, as is depicted in FIG. 3. To securely effect attachment of the external catheter to the male member 12, a coating means, such as an adhesive gel foam 24 is disposed substantially along the entire inside length of the body portion or tubular sheath 10. This coating means 24 adhesively contacts and adheres to the underlying skin of the male member 12 to maintain the external catheter in place. In this respect, the coating means 24 could comprise a urethane foam having a pressure-sensitive adhesive on both sides thereof so as to effect attachment of the catheter to the male member and additionally to effect a modicum of cushioning so as to increase comfort during use.

It should further be appreciated that the coating means 24, though being disposed substantially along the entire inside length of the body portion or sheath 10, does not extend into the coextensive dome-shaped distal end 14. This can be appreciated from a review of FIG. 1 of the appended drawings. Considering that urine discharged from the urethral canal of the male member 12 is initially discharged into the distal end 14, it will be seen that the coating means 24 effectively defines a liquid-tight seal for preventing urine in the dome-shaped distal end 14 from contacting the skin of the male member underlying the body portion 10 during use of the apparatus. In this fashion, irritation and/or infection of the sensitive skin is avoided. Further, the liquid-tight seal prevents leakage of urine from the device, the only exit allowed the urine being orifice 16 through the distal end 14.

The preferred inventive embodiment of the novel external catheter incorporates still another advantageous feature in that the preferred embodiment thereof includes a longitudinal slit 26 along the top thereof, this slit preferably running to within 1-3 centimeters from the onset of the distal end 14. Due to the provision of this longitudinal slit 26, the external catheter of the instant invention can be constructed in a single size, yet still accommodate male members of various dimensions. In this respect, and considering the utilization of the inventive device about a male member of relatively smaller size, the tubular sheath or body portion 10 could entirely surround the male member 12 as depicted in FIG. 3, in which event the longitudinal slit 26 would substantially be closed. On the other hand, and considering the utilization of the novel device with a male member of greater substance, the tubular sheath or body portion 10 might only partially surround the periphery of the male member, thus leaving a narrow gap defined by the longitudinal slit, somewhat in the fashion of FIG. 1. Even in this case, leakage of the catheter is prevented, due to the fact that the coating means 24 runs substantially the entire inside length of the body portion 10, whereas the longitudinal slit does not extend so long, terminating, as aforementioned, approximately 1-3 centimeters prior to the distal end 14. As should further be appreciated, the overall length of the external catheter of the instant invention can be adjusted to accommodate the male member 12 simply by rolling back a portion of the tubular sheath or body portion 10 prior to application about a male member 12.

It should now be apparent from the foregoing description that the objects set forth at the outset of this specification have been successfully achieved. Moreover, while there has been shown and described present preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be distinctly understood by those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited thereto, but may be otherwise variously embodied and practiced within the scope of the following claims. ACCORDINGLY,

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An external catheter for use by male patients, said catheter comprising a flexible elongated tubular sheath defining a body portion adapted to substantially surround the male member, said body portion terminating in a coextensive and relatively stiffer dome-shaped distal end having an orifice therethrough allowing the discharge of urine to a remote collecting location, coating means disposed substantially along the entire inside length of said body portion for adhesively contacting and adhering to the underlying skin of the male member, whereby said catheter is maintained in place about the male member in use, said coating means further defining a liquid-tight seal for preventing urine in said dome-shaped distal end from contacting the skin of the male member underlying said body portion, said body portion being longitudinally slit along the top thereof such that said catheter can accommodate male members of various dimensions, said longitudinal slit running substantially the entire length of said body portion, terminating prior to said distal end, and said coating means comprising an adhesive gel foam.

2. An external catheter as defined in claim 1, further including a nipple connector means associated with said orifice in said distal end for connecting said orifice to a urine drainage tube.

3. An external catheter as defined in claim 1, wherein said body portion and said distal end are constructed of a resilient material, the cross-sectional thickness of the material of said distal end being greater than the cross-sectional thickness of said body portion.