A new London-based start-up company, Funnelly Enough, recently launched its first product - Peezy, a user-friendly, hygienic and effective urine-collection device. Dr Vincent Forte, a family GP who is also the company's Medical Director in charge of of research and development, found that asking female patients to deliver a mid-stream samle into the standard Universal Container elicited a response that became the bane of his working life.
"Every time I asked for a urine sample my women patients were emphatic that the process was not easy. When I thought about it, I realised that it is messy and undignificed," he explains."The majority of women find it embarrassing on a number of levels. Stopping and starting is just the first hurdle, followed by spills and splashing, wet hands and soaked bottle, which then has to be handed to the nurse or receptionist. It is not pleasant for anyone involved."
So, he decided to do something about it and invented a compact single-use device that would not only deliver the 'gold-standard' mid-stream, but should help keep toilets in hospitals, clinics and surgeries clean. He patented Peezy in 2001 and brought on board West Sussex-based design consultants Maddison to help with the product design. The device comprises three parts - a U-Duct, a sheet and a compressed sponge that is placed in the narrow point of the funnel. After use, Peezy is replaced within its packaging and disposed of within the standard 'yellow-bag' waste system.
Having been through a series of user tests, Peezy will be on sale from July and will retail at £1.69 per unit. Having brought his first product to market, Forte is already working on biodegradable and flushable Peezys. www.peezy.co.uk