ProtekMed has launched the Tru-flo(TM) urinary catheter valve, an innovative and economical alternative to the standard tube and bag system prescribed by most urologists. This revolutionary technology eliminates the need for a bag and lengthy tubing, enabling patients who require catheters to regain a sense of normalcy and an improved quality of life. Tru-flo allows patients to drain their bladders in a much more natural way.

PercuVision, which has developed a device that guides medical staff through a urethral catheterizations, has received FDA clearance to market its device. The $29,000 device is essentially a catheter with a fiber-optic flashlight and camera at the end. The company built its DirectVision System to be a “visual guide” through the urethra that will cut down on problematic insertions into the urethra and cut health-care costs by eliminating costly procedures from catheter-related damage.

Cardium Therapeutics and its operating unit InnerCool Therapies, Inc., has developed a pelvic cooling catheter system called UroCool(TM). The product is designed to induce localized cooling during surgery for prostate cancer (radical prostatectomy). The new technology is being applied in collaboration with renowned prostate surgeon, Thomas E. The UroCool(TM) catheter is placed within the rectal cavity adjacent to the prostate during surgery. It is used in conjunction with InnerCool’s Celsius Control Console which circulates cold saline in a closed loop within the catheter to allow for localized cooling.

Ceragenix Pharmaceuticals Inc. said its CeraShield coated silicone urinary catheters used in preclinical tests were able to provide complete protection against E.coli bacterial colonization for the entire duration of a 21–day study. The results of the study, which also examined two leading silver-coated urinary catheters and one nitrofurazone-eluting catheter in the same protocol, reflected that all three of the compared catheters lost antimicrobial activity after three days.