Overview:
This organization is seeking technologies for at-home cleaning and re-sterilization of intermittent catheters. Technologies that are easy to use, broad acting (against bacteria, viruses and fungi) and have the potential to be used on-the-go are of interest.
Background:
Intermittent catheters are typically used 4-6 times per day and for the most part are single use items. Catheters are made of polymers with a hydrophilic coating and need to be sterile when inserting in the urethra to reduce the risk of infections. This project aims to investigate technologies that would allow the the development of re-usable catheters which can be cleaned/re-sterilized by the user at home or on the go in an effort to reduce the amount of single use plastic.
Requirements:
Potential solutions must be:
- Broad acting against bacteria, viruses and fungi
- Capable of removing any particulate matter
- Easy to operate by lay users
- Battery operated, or ideally not require power
- For use both at home and also on-the-go
- Designed for consumer use from a cost perspective
Nice to have:
- Ability to track cleaning cycles
Possible Solution Areas:
A wide range of solutions and technology will be considered for this project. Potential solution areas include contact lens cleaning, surface sterilization, baby bottle sterilization, medical instrument sterilization. At a minimum, a prototype of the system must exist to demonstrate efficacy.
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