Designing a better catheter

STANDING OUT: From left, Ken Kraft, vice president of marketing of Cox Business in Atlanta; Francisco Portela, Portela Soni Medical LLC founder, and Ross Nelson, vice president of Cox Business in Rhode Island. Portela received a $1,000 prize at last month's Get Started Rhode Island pitch competition. / COURTESY COX BUSINESS
STANDING OUT: From left, Ken Kraft, vice president of marketing of Cox Business in Atlanta; Francisco Portela, Portela Soni Medical LLC founder, and Ross Nelson, vice president of Cox Business in Rhode Island. Portela received a $1,000 prize at last month's Get Started Rhode Island pitch competition. / COURTESY COX BUSINESS

Catheter design has not significantly changed since 1935, which is in part why there are a host of urinary-tract infections and annual costs to hospitals related to the medical device.

It’s also the impetus behind Portela Soni Medical LLC, a medical-device startup looking to make a safer, more affordable catheter that reduces the number of catheter-associated, urinary-tract infections. The number of such cases each year exceeds 560,000, costing medical facilities on average $1,007 per case, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Imagine a toothbrush that’s left in the mouth for a few days,” said Francisco Portela, company founder and CEO. “Eventually, you’ll see the bacteria grow on it … and you might get an oral infection. A similar process happens with these devices.”

The company, which started in January, says initial tests of its catheter yields a greater than 75 percent reduction in bacterial growth.

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“Health is the most important thing you have,” Portela said. “When you don’t have it, you hope the technology out there is helping you as much as possible.” •

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