NEO-CATH - Smart Urinary Catheter System - Analgesic, Anti-inflammatory, Anti-Infective
Project number
25045
Organization
Kidney ADVANCE Project - NIH/ACABI
Offering
ENGR498-F2024-S2025
Project Goal/Summary: The purpose of this project is to develop an improved, more advanced, patient friendly urinary drainage catheter. The proposed device will reduce pain, prevent inflammation and limit and prevent infection, all of which are major advances overcoming the limitations of current designs. Successful development of this device will be a step forward to broadly reducing medical morbidity and mortality.
Requirements: Step one: Teams will research the limitations of current Foley catheter systems as to pain, inflammation and infection. Step 2: A series of strategies and designs will be developed for local controlled release of analgesic, anti-inflammatory and anti-infective agents (specific easily obtainable drugs will be used). Controlled release formulations using drug delivery polymers will be configured and release kinetics will be modeled and tested in vitro. Step 3: In parallel an “electroceutical” strategy will also be pursued to incorporate into the catheter, i.e. local electromagnetic fields or ultrasound, as a synergistic means of reducing infection on the catheter. Step 4: Mock catheter constructs will be made and tested in an in vitro tissue/infection model and the best design will be advanced. Step 5: A temperature sensor element will be incorporated in the catheter to measure subtle temperature rise associated with inflammation and infection. Step 6: A GUI/Cell phone readout and data tracking system will monitor, report and telemeter infection potential to the cloud or EHR. Step 7: A parallel customer survey will be conducted on features to evaluate market acceptance and help provide feedback for design improvements.
Friday afternoon mentoring sessions (for all Kidney/ACABI teams) on a rotating pre-scheduled basis will be in place to provide adequate guidance.
Skills Necessary: Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering Computer Programming, Machine Learning. Knowledge of sensors, materials and polymers, coding.
Requirements: Step one: Teams will research the limitations of current Foley catheter systems as to pain, inflammation and infection. Step 2: A series of strategies and designs will be developed for local controlled release of analgesic, anti-inflammatory and anti-infective agents (specific easily obtainable drugs will be used). Controlled release formulations using drug delivery polymers will be configured and release kinetics will be modeled and tested in vitro. Step 3: In parallel an “electroceutical” strategy will also be pursued to incorporate into the catheter, i.e. local electromagnetic fields or ultrasound, as a synergistic means of reducing infection on the catheter. Step 4: Mock catheter constructs will be made and tested in an in vitro tissue/infection model and the best design will be advanced. Step 5: A temperature sensor element will be incorporated in the catheter to measure subtle temperature rise associated with inflammation and infection. Step 6: A GUI/Cell phone readout and data tracking system will monitor, report and telemeter infection potential to the cloud or EHR. Step 7: A parallel customer survey will be conducted on features to evaluate market acceptance and help provide feedback for design improvements.
Friday afternoon mentoring sessions (for all Kidney/ACABI teams) on a rotating pre-scheduled basis will be in place to provide adequate guidance.
Skills Necessary: Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering Computer Programming, Machine Learning. Knowledge of sensors, materials and polymers, coding.