CathBuddy, Inc. – Sanitary touchless catheter insertion and sterilization: 1.1 million individuals with neurogenic bladder use between 4 to 6 intermittent catheters a day to empty their bladder in the United States. Intermittent catheterization is costly for individuals and payers, and sends over 85 million pounds of waste to landfills every year. All products on the market today are singleuse only, though reuse is prevalent – up to 56% of the patient population reuses catheters at a median rate of 20 times each, primarily due to financial reasons. Urinary catheterization is difficult – individuals have to insert 8- to 16-inch-long flexible catheters without directly touching the catheter in order to avoid contact contamination. The urethral opening is often covered in bacteria and, for women in particular, is difficult to find without the use of a mirror or fingers (which are often non-sterile). Guidelines for “safe” intermittent catheterization are almost universally ignored by individuals, as confirmed by our interviews of over 30 catheter users, due to their onerous nature and the volume of supplies needed that make it practically impossible to adhere to these guidelines in everyday contexts. This results in the extremely high observed UTI incidence among people who catheterize (40-60% for users of sterile catheters, 70-80% for those who reuse catheters) as well as extremely high medical expenses. In order to decrease UTI incidence, there is a need for a catheterization system that is easy-touse in a sterile manner as well as affordable. The CathBuddy system consists of an RFID-tagged, UV-transparent reusable intermittent catheter with a lifetime of 100 uses, an insertion kit that allows for touch-less catheter insertion, and a catheter sterilizer that uses UV-C technology to sterilize up to 6 used catheters and insertion aids. The system provides users with the features of premium catheters – which have been shown to reduce UTI incidence by up to 30%, but are rarely covered by insurance unless stringent requirements are met – at a fraction of the cost [$2,400 for an annual supply of CathBuddy catheters vs. $14,790 for an annual supply of premium catheters billed under HCPCS code A4353]. The insertion aid makes the process of inserting a catheter into the body easier and safer by stabilizing the catheter insertion apparatus against the body in order to minimize the coordination necessary to successfully insert a catheter into the body and to minimize the odds of contact contamination. It reduces the economic burden of catheterization by 72% and lowers its environmental impact by millions of pounds of waste annually. By reducing UTIs, the CathBuddy system reduces healthcare spending on UTI treatment by hundreds of millions of dollars a year. We are the only catheter company on the market with a reusable product, and have submitted our nonprovisional patent application to the protect the IP of our sterilization unit. We plan to submit additional patents to protect the catheter and insertion aid.