Experience-driven. Patient-focused. Community-committed.
IQ Catheter Canada is owned and operated by three individuals based in Vancouver who share more than just a business partnership—we share a combined 90 years of lived experience with spinal cord injury. Each of us performs intermittent catheterization multiple times daily, which means we understand firsthand the challenges, frustrations, and aspirations of the people we serve.
Our backgrounds in healthcare and business gave us the skills to build a company, but it's our lived experience that drives our mission. We understand the vulnerability of trusting your body to a medical device multiple times every day. We know the relief of finding a product that works for you.
In 1963, Manfred Sauer was a 19-year-old schoolboy whose life took a dramatic turn with a botched dive into the Thames. During his run-up, Manfred was blocked by a poodle. He dodged it, jumped from the wrong spot, and landed on a sandbank. The accident left him with tetraplegia.
A spinal cord injury usually affects bladder function, often with incontinence — and in the early 1960s there were few practical options for managing it day to day. After his rehabilitation at the Stoke Mandeville spinal unit, Manfred Sauer set out to change that: in 1965 he began developing and marketing urinary sheaths (condom catheters), and in 1976 he founded Manfred Sauer GmbH.
We chose to partner with Manfred Sauer because their commitment to innovation and quality mirrors our own values. Like us, the company was started by someone who lives with a spinal cord injury, and for nearly five decades it has developed continence products with input from the people who use them. The IQ Catheter's patented design reflects that approach.
Whether you're a healthcare professional exploring options for your patients, or someone personally navigating life with intermittent catheterization, we'd love to hear from you. Let's talk about your needs, share experiences, and explore whether the IQ Catheter might suit you.
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