A $1 modification to a common medical device could help prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infections.

NOTRE DAME, Ind., Oct. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Urinary catheters are essential medical devices, but they can also create an opportunity for infection. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 15% to 25% of hospitalized patients receive urinary catheters, and about 75% of urinary tract infections developed in hospitals are associated with a catheter.

At the University of Notre Dame, researchers have developed a simple silicone-based coating designed to help prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infections, or CAUTIs.

Preventing catheter-associated UTIs

Catheter insertion can irritate and damage the bladder, causing the body to send healing proteins to the area. Bacteria and fungi can then stick to those proteins and cause infection.

Microbiologist Ana Flores-Mireles and her team have developed a silicone-based coating designed to interrupt that process. Early results are promising: In preclinical studies, the coating reduced the buildup that helps infections take hold.

Coating catheters is not new, she acknowledged. “What our research has done is open a new avenue where we are understanding exactly what is happening, and by understanding what is happening, we’re able to target and develop efficient intervention strategies.”

Catheter-associated UTIs are estimated to cost US healthcare systems up to $1.82 billion each year. Flores-Mireles estimates that applying the coating would add about $1 to the cost of an existing catheter.

That relatively small investment could help reduce the broader costs of CAUTIs, lessen the physical and financial burden on patients, and make the technology accessible in lower-resource settings.

Targeting bacterial and fungal infections

The technology could eventually be used beyond urinary catheters. Researchers see potential applications for central lines, dialysis catheters, brain stents, and prostheses—medical devices that can improve or sustain life but can also create pathways for infection.

Biological sciences professor Felipe Santiago-Tirado specializes in fungal pathogenesis, the study of how fungi cause infection and disease. His research found that certain fungi behave similarly to bacteria. He has partnered with Flores-Mireles to study whether fungal CAUTIs can be prevented with the same technology.

Additional study is needed before the technology can reach patients. But understanding how medical devices interact with the body and microbes could help researchers develop better ways to prevent infections and make widely used medical technology safer for patients.

Learn how a low-cost catheter adaptation could help prevent bacterial and fungal infections.

About the University of Notre Dame

The University of Notre Dame is a leading global Catholic research university and a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), a consortium of the nation’s leading public and private research universities. The only explicitly religious institution in the AAU, Notre Dame advances research and scholarship in service to humanity, pursuing discoveries that address complex challenges, improve lives, and contribute to the common good.

Contact: news@nd.edu 

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SOURCE University of Notre Dame