FDA Approves UrAssist™ Portable Urine Collection System

Preferred Medical Devices, Inc has just received FDA approval to market the UrAssist™ urine collection system, designed for limited-mobility patients. They receive 500 Medgadget Points for the slogan “Freedom to Go.” According to Preferred…

This patented system is unlike any other urine collection product on the market as it is uniquely designed based upon proprietary technology. It consists of a hard-framed shell housing the battery-powered pump and circuitry, encased with a washable, durable soft cover. The other proprietary elements of the system include specifically designed collection cups (for males and females), plastic drainage tubing, a high-volume collection bag, and a unique fluid pump technology. Other accessories are available that allows for the UrAssist™ System to be attached to a manual wheelchair, attached to a bed, or placed next to an easy chair.
To use the UrAssist™ System, the patient simply voids into a hand-held collection cup and a proprietary fluid pump which draws the urine through a tube into a plastic drainage bag where it is stored until emptied. We designed the UrAssist™ System as a simple alternative to the in-dwelling catheter, condom catheter, diaper, bed pan and collection bottle. When compared to many products that require immediate disposal, the UrAssist™ System provides sufficient volume storage for a day’s worth of urine before emptying, therefore removing stress and urgency for the user to find a toilet.

Maybe we’re missing something, but it seems that a hand-held collection cup might not be the best system for a continence-challenged population. Wouldn’t they have to keep the cup (which comes in male or female versions) in place all day? Or maybe this is just for mobility-deficient patients who still maintain bladder control.
More from the press release…
Click through to the product page for some great imagery involving lots of water.