Opportunities
24 Hour Urine Collection Device
The Technology
24 hour urine sample collection is commonly used to determine the amount of various substances excreted per day. The urology department in a large Manchester teaching hospital has developed a simple device to select and store representative portions of 24 hour urine collection. Currently, patients collect and store up to 5 litres of urine for this purpose. The procedure can be inconvenient and embarassing and the container can be heavy and indiscrete to carry. Patients often collect their samples over the weekend, which may produce an unrepresentative sample. The new device overcomes these problems.
The Advantages
- Simple to use
- Lightweight
- Discrete
- Portable
The Potential Market
The hospital that developed the device analyses about 8,000 such samples per year. The private market in the UK may collect about 30,000 to 40,000 samples per year (figures based on a small telephone survey). Overall, the potential UK market has been estimated to be in the region of 312,000 or 390,000 samples per year. On a per capita basis, this suggests in excess of 65 million samples are being processed annually in North America and Western Europe.
The Opportunities
We are seeking a commercial partner experienced in the manufacture of medical devices especially in plastic. A licence arrangement or a collaborative development project, are both possibilities.
The Contact
For more information about this or other technologies available for commercialisation through TrusTECH, contact:
Dr Joanne Thomas
Senior Technology Manager
TrusTECH, Innovation Unit
1st Floor, Postgraduate Centre
Manchester Royal Infirmary
Manchester
M13 9WL
T: 0161 276 6965