Female Supine Urination Tech: Patent Landscape & Indicators

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Medical Device Innovation
• Intellectual Property Analysis

Background:

• Female urination in a supine position presents significant challenges in healthcare settings.
• Current solutions like bedpans and diapers can be uncomfortable and increase caregiver workload.
• These challenges may lead to avoidable urinary catheterization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To map the patent landscape of non-invasive female urine-collection technologies for supine use.
• To identify actionable innovation and access priorities for these devices.

Main Methods:

• Searched multiple patent databases (Espacenet, WIPO, USPTO, Google Patents, INVENES) from 2000-2025.
• Screened and de-duplicated patent families for functional relevance to female supine voiding.
• Extracted patent data and coded solution archetypes and adoption-relevant attributes.

Main Results:

• Analyzed 26 patent families, with innovation activity concentrated between 2010-2020.
• Most inventions (≈69%) focused on single-use/disposable designs.
• Passive external collectors showed maturity, while suction/capillary methods increased infrastructure dependence.

Conclusions:

• A significant gap exists in ergonomic, autonomous, and reusable supine female urine collection interfaces.
• Future R&D should prioritize usability, risk assessment, sustainability, and accessible intellectual property strategies.
• Development is needed for devices suitable for home care and low-resource settings.