“I always had the idea that a catheter shouldn't be used more than one time."
David Sheridan
Half a century ago, urinary catheters were made of laminated, braided cotton. Rather than being disposable, they were cleaned and reused. Far more than just turning the stomachs of the patients who needed them, the catheters posed an increased risk of infection—with potentially fatal consequences.
That all changed with the dream of David Sheridan (1908-2004). While working as a floor refinisher, this American son of Russian immigrants decided that he could make a better catheter. That dream, coupled with the fact that World War II threatened to cut off U.S. hospitals from their French catheter suppliers, caused Sheridan to act. Despite having only an eighth-grade education, Sheridan invented a machine that allowed hollow rubber tubes to be made into catheters that could be used a single time, and then discarded. A painted strip on the catheter ensured that it would show up on an X-ray so that the catheter's correct placement could be determined.
Though he started out with the humble urinary catheter, Sheridan soon advanced to other, more sophisticated tubes. He invented an endotracheal tube, which allows patients to breathe during surgery, and also several catheters for use in heart surgery. This all started out, however, with a hollow tube that enabled people to urinate.
