Innovation improves comfort and ease of catheter use in women

As an advanced nurse clinician, Tanara Boursiquot, MSN, RN, frequently heard nurses express frustration about inserting urinary catheters in female patients. With only one hand available to place the catheter while the other positions the patient, they often struggle, at times needing multiple attempts and help from a second nurse or a home health aide.

So Boursiquot had an idea. She conceived of the AccuCatheter Kit, allowing a nurse to insert a catheter reliably in one attempt without assistance. It is now in prototype, making Boursiquot the latest inventor for Lankenau Institute for Medical Research (LIMR), part of Main Line Health.

"It feels different being referred to as an inventor," says Boursiquot, now a Main Line Health HomeCare Manager. "I'm humble and low-key. I don't seek a lot of attention. But it's exciting at the same time."

Lankenau Ventures: Turning nurse ideas into life-changing devices

The Accu-Catheter Kit is one of several inventions being developed by LIMR through Lankenau Ventures, a joint venture with Early Charm Ventures and L2C Partners.

LIMR seeks to have frontline nurses submit ideas for improving patient care as potential inventions. Boursiquot hesitated for weeks to submit hers but took the plunge. LIMR was glad she did.

The simple U-shaped device retracts the folds of the labia, allowing a nurse to perform sterile insertion with both hands. The Accu-Catheter Kit has the potential to prevent painful and costly urinary tract infections as well as save time and reduce waste from failed attempts to place the catheter. Hospitals, long-term care facilities, home care organizations and women who self-catheterize stand to benefit.

"I really do hope it's effective for nurses," Boursiquot says. "I think it'll be amazing if we can change the way we insert catheters."

Additional nurse-invented devices improving patient safety

Another area where LIMR continues to make invention progress is in mitigating hospital fall injuries. A patent was recently published for a device invented by Barbara Wadsworth, DNP, RN, who is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Main Line Health and a longtime nurse. It comprises a sensor capable of detecting when an individual is falling and a compact airbag/cushion deployment device that can be mounted in various at-risk areas such as a bathroom.

Another fall-safety invention in the patent process is a toilet privacy screen. During his tenure as a Main Line Health executive, Jeshahnton Essex, MBA, MSHA, FACHE — now COO of Baylor University Medical Center — followed Wadsworth's leadership and conceived of a device allowing patients to be supervised to avoid falls yet maintain privacy.

The device has an adjustable privacy screen and a lightweight sensor bar that detects any attempt by the patient to get up from the toilet and walk back to bed unsupervised.

The Rogers Limb Support, invented by Colleen Rogers, RN, went on the market in 2024. The device props up a weak or injured limb, enabling a nurse to provide care independently and efficiently without need for assistance from another caregiver. The device is of particular help in caring for patients with diabetes, who frequently have such chronic wounds.

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Learn more about Lankenau Institute for Medical Research (LIMR)
Learn more about Lankenau Ventures