Claims
- 1. A urine collection bag for use in a urinary catheter system, comprising:
opposed portions of plastic sheet material that are sealed together around a peripheral edge to define a substantially closed receptacle; each portion including a surface texture having a depth sufficient to increase the flexibility of the plastic sheet material relative to an otherwise identical plastic sheet material without the surface texture.
- 2. The urine collection bag of claim 1 wherein the surface texture is provided on the opposed surfaces of the portions.
- 3. The urine collection bag of claim 1 wherein the depth of the surface texture is selected to provide the plastic sheet material with a hardness of less than about 85 Shore A.
- 4. The urine collection bag of claim 1 wherein the depth of the surface texture is at least about 25% of the thickness of the plastic sheet material.
- 5. The urine collection bag of claim 4 wherein the depth of the surface texture is from about 25% to 75% of the thickness of the plastic sheet material.
- 6. The urine collection bag of claim 5 wherein the depth of the surface texture is from about 40% to 60% of the thickness of the plastic sheet material.
- 7. The urine collection bag of claim 1 wherein the plastic sheet material comprises polyvinyl chloride.
- 8. The urine collection bag of claim 1 wherein the plastic sheet material has an overall thickness of from about 5 to 10 mils.
- 9. The urine collection bag of claim 3 wherein the surface texture provides the sheet material with a hardness of from about 60 to 85 Shore A.
- 10. A urine collection bag for use in a urinary catheter system, comprising:
opposed portions of plastic sheet material that are sealed together around a peripheral edge to define a substantially closed bag; a surface texture disposed on the opposed surfaces of each of the portions.
- 11. The urine collection bag of claim 10 wherein the plastic sheet material comprises polyethylene.
- 12. A urine collection bag for use in a urinary catheter system including a catheter having an introducer tip for introduction of the catheter into the urethra, the urine collection bag comprising:
opposed portions of plastic sheet material that are sealed together around a peripheral edge to define a substantially closed receptacle, the receptacle having an open end through which the catheter can be advanced into the urethra; and joined to the receptacle at the open end, a braking interface tube constructed to receive and guide the introducer tip, the braking interface tube having a beveled leading edge.
- 13. The urine collection bag of claim 12 wherein the leading edge is inclined at an angle of from about 15 to 45 degrees.
- 14. The urine collection bag of claim 12 wherein facing surfaces of the opposed portions of plastic sheet material include a surface texture.
- 15. The urine collection bag of claim 12 wherein the braking interface tube is formed from a polymer selected from the group consisting of polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, polyurethanes, silicones and coextrusions thereof.
- 16. The urine collection bag of claim 12 or 15 wherein the braking interface tube is formed of a material having a hardness of from about 40 to 80 Shore A.
- 17. The urine collection bag of claim 12 wherein the beveled leading edge defines an open area, and the braking interface tube is dimensioned and positioned so as to allow a user to place his thumb against a first one of the opposed portions, over the open area, and his index finger on the opposite one of the opposed portions, approximately aligned with the thumb, so that the thumb presses the first opposed portion directly against the catheter tube, while the index finger presses the opposite opposed portion against a lower surface of the braking interface tube, which in turn presses against the catheter tube.
- 18. The urine collection bag of claim 17 wherein the open area is substantially elliptical.
- 19. A urine collection bag for use in a urinary catheter system including a catheter having an introducer tip for introduction of the catheter into the urethra, the urine collection bag comprising:
opposed portions of plastic sheet material that are sealed together around a peripheral edge to define a substantially closed receptacle, the receptacle having an open end through which the catheter can be advanced into the urethra; and joined to the receptacle at the open end, a braking interface tube constructed to receive and guide the introducer tip, the braking interface tube being formed of a material having a hardness of from about 40 to 70 Shore A.
- 20. The urine collection bag of claim 19 wherein the braking interface tube comprises polyvinyl chloride.
- 21. A urine collection bag for use in a urinary catheter system, comprising:
opposed portions of plastic sheet material that are sealed together around a peripheral edge to define a substantially closed receptacle; the plastic sheet material being a noiseless material.
- 22. A urine collection bag for use in a urinary catheter system, comprising:
opposed portions of a polyvinyl chloride plastic sheet material having an overall thickness of from about 5 to 10 mils, the opposed portions being sealed together around a peripheral edge to define a substantially closed receptacle.
- 23. A urine collection bag for use in a urinary catheter system, comprising:
opposed portions of plastic sheet material that are sealed together around a peripheral edge to define a substantially closed receptacle; the receptacle being substantially bottle-shaped.
- 24. The urine collection bag of claim 23 wherein the receptacle includes an elongated neck region, having a width of less than about 50 mm.
- 25. The urine collection bag of claim 23 or 24 wherein the receptacle includes curved shoulders.
- 26. The urine collection bag of claim 25 wherein the shoulders have a radius of curvature of from about 0.25 to 1.03 degrees.
- 27. The urine collection bag of claim 23 wherein the receptacle has a total volume of at least 1000 cc.
- 28. A urine collection bag for use in a urinary catheter system, comprising:
opposed portions of plastic sheet material that are sealed together around a peripheral edge to define a substantially closed receptacle; each portion including a surface texture having a depth sufficient to increase the flexibility of the plastic sheet material relative to an otherwise identical plastic sheet material without the surface texture, the surface texture being disposed on an interior surface of the receptacle; and an interface tube having a beveled opening constructed to allow a user to apply pressure with an index finger or thumb from an exterior surface of the receptacle and thereby press the surface texture against a urinary catheter disposed within the receptacle to hold the catheter in place while manipulating the sheet material to advance the catheter out of the receptacle.
- 29. The urine collection bag of claim 28 wherein the plastic sheet material is a noiseless material.
- 30. The urine collection bag of claim 29 wherein the noiseless material comprises PVC.
- 31. The urine collection bag of claim 10 wherein the surface texture is constructed to increase the friction between the opposed surfaces of the portions and a catheter during gripping of the catheter by a patient, relative to the friction exerted by opposed portions of an otherwise identical plastic sheet material without the surface texture.
- 32. The urine collection bag of claim 31 wherein the surface texture is constructed to provide pockets for receiving lubricant.
- 33. A closed catheter system comprising:
a urine collection bag including opposed portions of plastic sheet material that are sealed together around a peripheral edge to define a substantially closed receptacle, each portion including a surface texture having a depth sufficient to increase the flexibility of the plastic sheet material relative to an otherwise identical plastic sheet material without the surface texture; and a catheter disposed within the bag; the urine collection bag being constructed to allow the catheter to be advanced from the bag by a user.
- 34. A closed catheter system comprising:
a urine collection bag including opposed portions of plastic sheet material that are sealed together around a peripheral edge to define a substantially closed bag; a surface texture disposed on the opposed surfaces of each of the portions; and a catheter disposed within the bag; the urine collection bag being constructed to allow the catheter to be advanced from the bag by a user.
- 35. The closed catheter system of claim 34 wherein the surface texture is constructed to increase the friction between the opposed surfaces of the portions and the catheter during gripping of the catheter by a patient, relative to the friction exerted by opposed portions of an otherwise identical plastic sheet material without the surface texture.
- 36. The closed catheter system of claim 35 wherein the catheter is lubricated.
- 37. The closed catheter system of claim 36 wherein the surface texture is constructed to provide pockets for receiving lubricant.
- 38. A urine collection bag for use in a urinary catheter system, comprising:
opposed portions of plastic sheet material that are sealed together around a peripheral edge to define a substantially closed receptacle; at least one of the portions including a raised surface texture.
- 39. The urine collection bag of claim 38 wherein one of the opposed portions does not include said raised surface texture.
- 40. The urine collection bag of claim 38 wherein said portion including said raised surface texture includes a transparent window region that does not include said raised surface texture.
- 41. The urine collection bag of claim 40 wherein said window region comprises a lengthwise stripe.
- 42. The urine collection bag of claim 40 wherein said window region comprises a horizontal stripe.
- 43. A urine collection bag for use in a urinary catheter system, comprising:
a reservoir region for containing urine; extending from the reservoir region, an elongated neck region having an end through which a catheter can be introduced into a user's urethra; and extending from a side portion of the neck region, a tear tab constructed so that pulling the tear tab outwardly from the neck region exposes a pour opening through which urine can be drained from the urine collection bag.
- 44. The urine collection bag of claim 43 wherein the tear tab includes an opening through which the user can insert a finger to pull the tear tab.
- 45. The urine collection bag of claim 43 wherein the tear tab includes protrusions that facilitate gripping of the tear tab by the user.
- 46. The urine collection bag of claim 43 wherein the tear tab is configured to be pulled toward said end of said elongated neck region.
- 47. The urine collection bag of claim 43 further comprising a catheter sealed to the bag at said end.
- 48. The urine collection bag of claim 43 further comprising a notched region between said tear tab and said side portion, configured to initiate tearing of the tear tab.
- 49. The urine collection bag of claim 43 further comprising a tab at a distal end of the bag, having an opening through which a user draining the bag can insert one or more fingers.
- 50. A urine collection bag for use in a urinary catheter system, comprising:
a reservoir region for containing urine; extending from the reservoir region, an elongated neck region having an end through which a catheter can be introduced into a user's urethra; and extending from a distal end of the bag, a tear tab constructed so that pulling the tear tab exposes a pour opening through which urine can be drained from the urine collection bag.
- 51. A urine collection bag for use in a urinary catheter system, comprising:
a reservoir region for containing urine; extending from the reservoir region, an elongated neck region having an end through which a catheter can be introduced into a user's urethra; and extending from a distal end of the bag, a tab having an opening through which a user draining the bag can insert one or more fingers.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part application of and claims priority to U.S. application Ser. No. 09/774,496, filed on Jan. 31, 2001.
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09774496 |
Jan 2001 |
US |
Child |
10015485 |
Dec 2001 |
US |