Claims
- 1. A urinary catheter for use by a person having a urethra with an orifice, said person further having an area of tissue surrounding said orifice of said urethra, said urinary catheter comprising:
- a body member, said body member being at least partially received within the urethra of the person, said body member having an outer surface, said body member defining at least one recessed region extending radially inward from and relative to said outer surface of said body member;
- a retaining member, said retaining member being mounted on said body member and movable between a first position and a second position on said body member, at least a portion of said retaining member traversing said at least one recessed region when said retaining member is moved from said first position to said second position, at least a portion of said retaining member being at least partially received within said recessed region when said retaining member is moved from said first position to said second position, said retaining member having a surface closely confronting the area of tissue surrounding the orifice of the urethra when the retaining member is at said second position on said body member; and
- an antiseptic substance, said antiseptic substance being received within said recessed region of said body member such that said portion of said retaining member received within said recessed region contacts and moves at least a portion of said antiseptic substance from said recessed region to said surface of said retaining member when said retaining member is moved from said first position to said second position, such that said portion of said antiseptic substance moved to said surface accumulates on said surface of said retaining member and contacts the area of tissue surrounding the orifice of the urethra when the retaining member is in the second position.
- 2. The urinary catheter of claim 1 wherein the body member and retaining member of the urinary catheter and the area of tissue surrounding the orifice of the urethra are exposed to an infectious contaminant, and further wherein the portion of the antiseptic substance that is moved to and accumulates on the surface of the retaining member and contacts the area of tissue surrounding the orifice of the urethra forms a barrier preventing the migration of said infectious contaminant through the orifice and the urethra of the person along the outer surface of the body member of the urinary catheter.
- 3. The urinary catheter of claim 2 wherein the infectious contaminant is a bacteria and the antiseptic substance is a bactericide.
- 4. The urinary catheter of claim 1 wherein the urethra of the person contains an aliquot of urine, and further wherein the portion of the antiseptic substance that is moved to and accumulates on the surface of the retaining member and contacts the area of tissue surrounding the orifice of the urethra forms a fluid seal preventing the leakage of said aliquot of urine from within the urethra through the orifice of the urethra along the outer surface of the body portion of the urinary catheter.
- 5. The urinary catheter of claim 4 wherein the antiseptic substance is a gel.
- 6. The urinary catheter of claim 4 wherein the antiseptic substance contains a betadine solution.
- 7. The urinary catheter of claim 1 wherein the surface of the retaining member defines a generally concave region having a shape generally conforming to the area of tissue surrounding the orifice of the urethra, the antiseptic substance accumulating in said concave region.
- 8. The urinary catheter of claim 1 wherein the portion of the antiseptic substance received within the recessed region of the body member of the urinary catheter is initially generally flush with the outer surface of the body member of the urinary catheter before being moved to the surface of the retaining member.
- 9. A urinary catheter for use by a person having a urethra with an orifice, said urinary catheter comprising:
- a body member, said body member being at least partially received within the urethra of the person; and
- a retaining member, said retaining member being mounted on said body member and movable between a first position and a second position, said retaining member having a surface closely confronting the orifice of the urethra when said retaining member is moved to said second position, at least a portion of said retaining member being received within the orifice of the urethra when said retaining member is at said second position.
- 10. The urinary catheter of claim 9 wherein the surface of the retaining member closely confronting the orifice of the urethra defines a generally concave region, the portion of the retaining member received within the orifice of the urethra projecting axially toward the urethra from said generally concave region.
- 11. The urinary catheter of claim 9 wherein the portion of the retaining member received within the orifice of the urethra has an outer surface defining a generally conical shape.
- 12. The urinary catheter of claim 9 wherein the portion of the retaining member received within the orifice of the urethra extends less than 5 millimeters into the urethra.
- 13. The urinary catheter of claim 12 wherein the portion of the retaining member received within the orifice of the urethra extends approximately 1 to 2 millimeters into the urethra.
- 14. The urinary catheter of claim 12 wherein the portion of the retaining member received within the orifice of the urethra extends approximately 2 to 3 millimeters into the urethra.
- 15. In a urinary catheter for use by a person having a bladder to control the flow of urine from said bladder, said urinary catheter including a catheter body, a lumen, a palpitatable valve connected to said catheter body in fluid communication with said lumen such that said person selectively manipulates said valve between a closed position and an open position to void said urine from said bladder through said lumen, said palpitatable valve including a valve element defining an opening extending entirely therethrough and disposed in fluid communication with said lumen, said valve element being generally deformable when said person selectively manipulates said valve such that said valve opening permits said flow of urine through said opening, the improvement comprising:
- a clip member, said clip member being selectively engaged on the palpitatable valve by the person to deform the valve element and maintain the valve element in a deformed configuration such that the valve permits the flow of urine through the opening of the valve element, the valve element returning to an undeformed configuration when said clip member is selectively disengaged from the palpitatable valve by the person such that the valve prevents the flow of urine through the opening of the valve element.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/392,529 filed on Feb. 23, 1995 now abandoned having the same title as set forth above, and for which the benefit of priority is hereby claimed pursuant to 35 USC .sctn.120.
US Referenced Citations (44)
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
392529 |
Feb 1995 |
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