Innovative Coating Relieves Catheter Insertion Pain

A new slippery coating aims to make catheter insertions easier, less painful, and with a reduced risk of inflammation or infection.

Developed by researchers at Queen's University Belfast (QUB; United Kingdom), Uroglide technology is intended for intermittent self-catheterization (ISC) patients who insert and remove disposable catheters themselves between four and eight times per day. The new coating, although cheaper than the current industry standard polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) lubricant, stays wet for longer, is more slippery, and adheres more strongly to the catheter. By easing insertion and removal, it improves the patient’s experience and make a life-changing difference to their dignity and health.

Potential benefits of the Uroglide coating include a low coefficient of friction, easy insertion and removal, reduced urethral trauma, enhanced dry-out times (which provide additional time for limited-dexterity users to achieve insertion), improved user satisfaction, and compatibility with standard coating methods. In a range of laboratory tests and human haptic assessments, Uroglide demonstrated a coefficient of friction value up to 40% lower than PVP, and two-fold longer retention of water. Uroglide will be distributed by QUB spinoff Uroglide (Belfast, Ireland), and will become commercially available in 2016.

“For patients with poor control over their bladders, intermittent self-catheterization, which involves the regular insertion of catheters into the bladder via the urethra, has become the norm,” said Prof. Colin McCoy, PhD, of the QUB School of Pharmacy. “Regular insertion of poorly lubricated catheters, however, is painful and can lead to difficult-to-treat urethral complications, such as damage, bleeding, and inflammation. The coatings that are currently used dry out quickly and they've changed very little in over a decade.”

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Queen's University Belfast
Uroglide