Pre-lubricated female urinary catheter package

Abstract

A rigid package or container for a sterile pre-lubricated, ready to use female-length catheter with enhanced gel receptacles and simple constructions. A main body of the rigid container has a hollow interior which may receive a gel receptacle defining an inner cavity filled with a lubricating gel. The gel receptacle partly inserts into the main body and a tube of the catheter inserts through the gel receptacle into the main body with a proximal outlet projecting out of the gel receptacle so as to be graspable. Alternatively, the gel may be provided within the hollow interior of the main body. A rigid and closed cap seals to either the main body or the gel receptacle and closes the hollow interior of the main body.

It is claimed: 
     
         1 . A urinary catheter package consisting essentially of:
 a rigid generally tubular main body having a distal closed end and a proximal open mouth and defining within a hollow interior;   a urinary catheter having an elongated flexible tube defining a closed distal tip with one or more flow openings formed in an adjacent sidewall thereof, and a proximal outlet attached to a proximal end of the tube and having a throughbore in communication with a lumen of the tube, wherein the tube of the urinary catheter is inserted through the open mouth of the main body and into the hollow interior such that at least a portion of the outlet remains outside the main body, and an outer diameter of the tube is less than an inner diameter of the hollow interior so that a concentric space is formed therebetween which is at least partly filled with a lubricating gel to the distal closed end of the main body such that lubricating gel remains on the catheter tube when the tube is retracted from within the main body; and   a rigid cap secured to the open mouth of the main body, the rigid cap being solid without openings so as to seal the urinary catheter within the hollow interior in a sterile manner.   
     
     
         2 . The urinary catheter package of  claim 1 , wherein the rigid cap is secured to the open mouth of the main body with mating threads. 
     
     
         3 . The urinary catheter package of  claim 1 , wherein the generally tubular main body has a shallow hourglass shape that narrows in a middle portion and the lubricating gel is deposited only in a distal end of the hollow interior of the main body to limit the amount of gel that remains on the catheter tube when retracted from within the main body. 
     
     
         4 . The urinary catheter package of  claim 1 , further including a divider wall secured within the main body and having a central aperture sized slightly larger than the catheter tube, the divider wall segregating the hollow interior of the main body into a proximal first section and a distal second section, and wherein the lubricating gel is deposited only in the distal second section. 
     
     
         5 . The urinary catheter package of  claim 4 , wherein a diameter D of the catheter tube ranges between about 2.7-5.3 mm, and a diameter A of the central aperture is about 1-2 mm larger than the diameter D. 
     
     
         6 . The urinary catheter package of  claim 4 , wherein the divider wall is formed by a molded bulkhead within the main body. 
     
     
         7 . The urinary catheter package of  claim 1 , wherein the divider wall is a removable annular disk. 
     
     
         8 . The urinary catheter package of  claim 1 , wherein the annular disk is retained within the inside of the main body with adhesive or held in place by a snap fit into a ring-shaped receiving cavity. 
     
     
         9 . The urinary catheter package of  claim 1 , wherein the catheter has a length of between about 10-15 cm, and the catheter package has a length of no more than 1-2 cm longer than the catheter. 
     
     
         10 . A urinary catheter package consisting essentially of:
 a rigid generally tubular main body having a distal closed end and a proximal open mouth and defining within a hollow interior;   a gel receptacle having a distal section defining an inner cavity at least partly filled with a lubricating gel and a proximal section, the distal section having a distal opening and a proximal opening leading to the proximal section, and the proximal section having an open proximal end, wherein the gel receptacle is inserted through the open mouth of the main body and into the hollow interior, the gel receptacle having an outer circumferential rib at one end of the proximal section that is sized to interfere with the open mouth such that the proximal section remains outside the hollow interior of the main body,   a urinary catheter having an elongated flexible tube defining a closed distal tip with one or more flow openings formed in an adjacent sidewall thereof, and a proximal outlet attached to a proximal end of the tube and having a throughbore in communication with a lumen of the tube, wherein the tube of the urinary catheter is inserted first into the open proximal end of the proximal section and extends through the entire gel receptacle such that the distal tip extends past the distal opening of the distal section and is within the hollow interior of the main body and at least a portion of the outlet remains outside the main body, and wherein a concentric space is formed around the tube within the distal section of the gel receptacle such that lubricating gel remains on the catheter tube when the tube is retracted from within the gel receptacle; and   a rigid cap secured to the proximal section of the gel receptacle, the rigid cap being solid without openings so as to seal the urinary catheter within the hollow interior in a sterile manner.   
     
     
         11 . The urinary catheter package of  claim 10 , further including a gel cap filled with gel that fits over the distal tip of the catheter tube, the gel cap being larger than the distal opening of the distal section so that it falls off the end of the tube when the tube is retracted from within the gel receptacle. 
     
     
         12 . The urinary catheter package of  claim 10 , wherein the gel cap has a hemispherical cup-shaped body and an outer flange that is larger than the distal opening of the distal section. 
     
     
         13 . The urinary catheter package of  claim 10 , wherein the distal opening of the distal section of the gel receptacle is defined by a plurality of cantilevered fingers separated by longitudinal slots, and the gel receptacle is molded of a flexible polymer which permits introduction of the lubricant gel into the inner cavity by inserting a syringe or other similar implement between the catheter tube and the cantilevered fingers which flex outward. 
     
     
         14 . The urinary catheter package of  claim 11 , wherein the longitudinal slots commence along the distal section and gradually widen toward distal ends of the cantilevered fingers. 
     
     
         15 . The urinary catheter package of  claim 11 , wherein the cantilevered fingers are molded to constrict a distal end of the distal section, then extend a short linear distance within which is defined the distal opening, before flaring outward to distal ends of the cantilevered fingers. 
     
     
         16 . The urinary catheter package of  claim 10 , wherein the catheter has a length of between about 10-15 cm, and the catheter package has a length of no more than 1-2 cm longer than the catheter. 
     
     
         17 . The urinary catheter package of  claim 10 , wherein the proximal section of the gel receptacle has a diameter that is approximately the same as an inner luminal diameter of the rigid cap such that the rigid cap is secured to the proximal section with an interference fit. 
     
     
         18 . The urinary catheter package of  claim 17 , wherein the proximal section has a pair of external axially-spaced ribs that interfere with the inner luminal diameter of the rigid cap so as to retain and seal it on the proximal section. 
     
     
         19 . The urinary catheter package of  claim 18 , wherein the proximal section is molded with a slight narrowing taper toward the proximal opening and a proximal rib is sized larger than a distal rib so as to have about the same diameter. 
     
     
         20 . The urinary catheter package of  claim 18 , wherein the ribs are triangular and asymmetric in cross-section with a steeper proximal face than a distal face.