Device for the treatment of male and female urinary incontinence
First Claim
1. A device for the treatment of human urinary incontinence comprising:
- a catheter which is inserted into the urethra and carries a balloon arrangement which is filled with fluid to close off the urinary bladder and to hold the catheter in the lumen of the urethra, the fluid being admitted to and discharged from the balloon arrangement via at least one channel running along the catheter wall which is closed off at the distal end of the catheter, and via a valve mounted at one end section of the catheter located in the urinary bladder, whereby the length of the catheter is dimensioned such that its distal end in the inserted condition lies within the urethra and the valve is actuated by mechanical pressure exerted from outside the urethra on an actuating balloon located at the distal end of the catheter, characterized in that the valve is installed in the proximal end section which, with the catheter in the inserted condition, lies within the lumen of the urinary bladder, in that the proximal end section carries a hydraulic actuating mechanism for opening the valve and in that the actuating mechanism can be hydraulically pressurized by mechanical pressure exerted on the actuating balloon located on the distal end section of the catheter which is filled with fluid and connected to the actuating mechanism via a connecting channel.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A device for the treatment of human urinary incontinence with a catheter which can be inserted into the urethra and carries a balloon arrangement which can be filled with fluid to close off the urinary bladder and to hold the catheter in the lumen of the urethra. The fluid can be admitted to and discharged from this balloon arrangement via at least one closed channel running along the catheter wall which is closed off at the distal end of the catheter, and via a valve mounted at one proximal end section of the catheter in inserted condition. The length of the catheter is dimensioned such that its distal end in inserted condition lies within the urethra. A hydraulic actuating mechanism, also located in the lumen of the urinary bladder, is assigned to the self-closing valve. This hydraulic actuating mechanism can be hydraulically actuated by mechanical pressure exerted on an actuating balloon located at the distal end of the catheter which is filled with fluid and linked to the actuating mechanism via a connecting channel (FIG. 1).
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Citations
55 Claims
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1. A device for the treatment of human urinary incontinence comprising:
- a catheter which is inserted into the urethra and carries a balloon arrangement which is filled with fluid to close off the urinary bladder and to hold the catheter in the lumen of the urethra, the fluid being admitted to and discharged from the balloon arrangement via at least one channel running along the catheter wall which is closed off at the distal end of the catheter, and via a valve mounted at one end section of the catheter located in the urinary bladder, whereby the length of the catheter is dimensioned such that its distal end in the inserted condition lies within the urethra and the valve is actuated by mechanical pressure exerted from outside the urethra on an actuating balloon located at the distal end of the catheter, characterized in that the valve is installed in the proximal end section which, with the catheter in the inserted condition, lies within the lumen of the urinary bladder, in that the proximal end section carries a hydraulic actuating mechanism for opening the valve and in that the actuating mechanism can be hydraulically pressurized by mechanical pressure exerted on the actuating balloon located on the distal end section of the catheter which is filled with fluid and connected to the actuating mechanism via a connecting channel.
- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A device for the treatment of human urinary incontinence to be used by a human being having a bladder and a urethra, comprising:
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a. a catheter having a proximal end with a tip and a distal end, which catheter is inserted into the urethra and is dimensioned such that its distal end in the inserted condition lies within the urethra and its proximal end in the inserted condition lies within the bladder; b. said catheter including a balloon arrangement which is filled with fluid to close off the urinary bladder and to hold said catheter in the lumen of the urethra, the fluid being admitted to and discharged from the balloon arrangement through at least one channel which is closed off at said distal end of said catheter; c. a valve mounted adjacent to said tip of said proximal end of said catheter and which is positioned inside the bladder to permit urine to be evacuated when the valve is opened; and d. means for opening said valve to permit urine to be discharged from the bladder while said catheter remains within the human body and means for closing said valve after the urine has been evacuated from the bladder; e. whereby said catheter can remain in the human body for the purposes of both closing of the flow of urine from the bladder and also permitting urine to be evacuated from the bladder while said catheter remains in its inserted condition. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A male device for the treatment of human urinary incontinence to be used by a human being having a bladder, a urethra, a sphincter muscle, and a penis, comprising:
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a. a catheter having a proximal end with a tip and a distal end with the length of the catheter dimensioned such that in its inserted condition, the distal end lies within the urethra and the tip of the proximal end lies within the bladder; b. a balloon arrangement including a first balloon located adjacent to said proximal end, a second balloon located distally from the first balloon, and means for inflating both balloons such that in the inflated condition the first and second balloons are located on opposite sides of the sphincter muscle; c. a valve located adjacent to said proximal end of said catheter and situated closer to said tip of said proximal end than said first balloon, with the valve situated within the bladder such that urine can be evacuated from the bladder when the valve is opened; d. said valve communicating with a lumen within said catheter which permits urine to flow from the opened valve, through the lumen and into the urethra; e. urine is prevented from evacuating the bladder when said first balloon is in the inflated condition and said valve is closed; and f. valve actuating means located adjacent to said distal end of said catheter and positioned within the urethra such that the valve actuating means is actuated through external pressure on the penis which is transmitted through the urethral wall to the valve actuating means to open said valve and permit urine to be evacuated; g. whereby said catheter remains within the human body both during the period that urine is prevented from being evacuated from the bladder by the inflated first balloon and during the period that urine is evacuated from the bladder by exiting through the opened valve. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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46. A female device for the treatment of human urinary incontinence to be used by a human being having a bladder, a urethra, a sphincter muscle, a vagina and a symphysis, comprising:
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a. a catheter having a proximal end with a tip and a distal end with the length of the catheter dimensioned such that in its inserted condition, the distal end lies within the urethra and the tip of the proximal end lies within the bladder; b. an arrangement including a balloon located adjacent to said proximal end, valve actuating means located distally from the balloon, and means for inflating both the balloon and the valve actuating means such that in the inflated condition the balloon and the valve actuating means are located on opposite sides of the sphincter muscle; c. a valve located adjacent to said proximal end of said catheter and situated closer to said tip of said proximal end than said balloon, with the valve situated within the bladder such that urine can be evacuated from the bladder when the valve is opened; d. said valve communicating with a lumen within said catheter which permits urine to flow from the opened valve, through the lumen and into the urethra; e. urine is prevented from evacuating the bladder when said balloon is in the inflated condition and said valve is closed; and f. said valve actuating means located adjacent to the symphysis and positioned such that pressure from a finger inserted into the vagina and pressing against said valve actuating means to force it against the symphysis causes said valve to open and permit urine to be evacuated; g. whereby said catheter remains within the human body both during the period that urine is prevented from being evacuated from the bladder and during the period that urine is evacuated from the bladder by exiting through the opened valve. - View Dependent Claims (47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55)
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Specification