Waste isolation, built into the diaper.
DiviDiaper is a patented diaper designed to keep urine and stool apart and give a urinary catheter its own sealed space. We call it the Waste Isolation Platform™. It is built for newborns, children after surgery, anyone who needs a catheter, and older adults.
In development and not yet for sale.
- U.S. patent granted
- INDA RISE Innovation Award
- As seen on FOX 5 New York
Why it matters
What happens when urine and stool mix
In a regular diaper, urine and stool land in the same place. Mixing can lead to ammonia formation and changes in the skin's natural, protective acidity. Studies estimate that 36 to 75 percent of children get diaper rash at some point, and it matters most for newborns, people healing from surgery, and anyone with a catheter. That mixing starts two separate problems: one on the skin, and one along a catheter.
They mix.
Urine and stool meet in the same space, right against the skin.
Route one: the skin.
Urine raises the skin's pH, and at that higher pH the enzymes in stool begin to digest the skin's surface. Doctors call the result incontinence-associated dermatitis, or IAD. In one multicenter study, 32 percent of hospitalized newborns developed it. Broken skin can then become an opening for secondary skin infection. This route ends at the skin.
Route two: the catheter.
This route does not go through the skin. The bacteria that cause most urinary infections live in the gut and arrive in stool. When a catheter is in place, stool in the diaper sits where the tube enters the body. Those bacteria can colonize the outside of the tube and climb it into the bladder. That infection is called CAUTI, and the CDC describes this outside-the-tube path as the way most CAUTIs begin.
CDC, Guideline for Prevention of Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections.
Two routes, one cause. Both begin with where waste lands. The Waste Isolation Platform™ is designed to address the cause by keeping urine and stool apart, and CathEase™ is designed to keep stool away from the catheter on route two.
What is CAUTI, and why does a diaper matter?
CAUTI stands for catheter-associated urinary tract infection. It is an infection of the bladder or kidneys that can start when a urinary catheter is in place.
How common is it?
About 75 percent of urinary tract infections picked up in the hospital are linked to a urinary catheter.
Source: CDC.
How does it start?
Most CAUTIs start on the outside of the catheter. Bacteria from stool or skin near the entry point climb along the tube into the bladder. The organism found most often is E. coli, which lives in the gut.
Where does the diaper come in?
When a patient with a catheter also wears a diaper, stool can end up right next to the tube. Today's workaround, a cut diaper with a second one underneath, does not provide a dedicated space for the tube. CathEase™ is designed to change that.
A short history
The diaper got better at holding waste. It never kept it apart.
For almost fifty years, the big changes to mainstream diapers have focused on absorbing more and leaking less. Today's cores are designed to pull urine away from the skin, but stool does not soak in the same way, and urine and stool still land in the same space.
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1978
Wetness indicators.
A stripe on the outside that changes color when the diaper is wet.
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1987
Leg cuffs and leak guards.
Elastic barriers around the legs, patented to help keep leaks in.
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2023
Rear blowout barrier.
A pocket at the back designed to help hold stool inside the diaper.
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Today
Waste Isolation Platform™.
Designed to keep urine and stool apart and give a urinary catheter its own sealed space. Patented in the U.S. and in development.
Sources: Kimberly-Clark wetness indicator introduction, 1978 (EDANA, Seven Decades of Disposable Diapers); U.S. Patents 4,636,207 and 4,704,116, issued 1987; Procter and Gamble announcement, October 2023.
One platform. Two patented technologies.
The Waste Isolation Platform™ changes the inside of the diaper. It comes first in two products, Harlows™ and CathEase™.
Harlows™, with the Divider™
For every diapered baby or patient
A soft, stretchy Divider™ between the legs, designed to hold urine in the front zone and stool in the back, so they do not mix against the skin. The Divider™ sits at the perineum, the strip of skin between the genitals and the anus, so it is designed to work the same way for boys and girls. Mixing is where route one begins. The Divider™ is designed to interrupt that chain at its first step, before urine and stool ever meet.
Early prototype bench test by a prototype vendor: liquid poured into the front zone did not cross into the back. A lab test, not a clinical study.
ROUTE ONE: THE SKIN
- Urine and stool mix Divider™ designed to interrupt here
- Skin pH rises and stool enzymes damage skin
- IAD
- Skin breakdown
- Secondary skin infection
ROUTE TWO: THE CATHETER
- Stool at the catheter
- Gut bacteria on the outside of the tube
- Bacteria climb into the bladder
- CAUTI
- In some cases, bloodstream infection
Route two applies only when a catheter is present.
Chain steps summarized from the CDC CAUTI guideline and the IAD sources cited above.
Over time, DiviDiaper intends to license the platform to diaper makers, so waste isolation can become part of everyday diapers.
Who it's for
Built for the people the standard diaper leaves behind.
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Newborns in the NICU with diaper rash risk
Premature newborns and babies receiving hospital care have delicate skin that needs gentle care.
Harlows™ is designed to keep urine and stool in separate zones, so they do not mix against that skin, where IAD begins.
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Children diapering after hypospadias or other surgery
After surgery near the diaper area, kids often go home with fresh stitches and a catheter.
CathEase™ is designed to give the catheter its own sealed space and keep stool away from the tube and the fresh stitches.
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Anyone diapering with a urinary catheter
Today, a catheter and a diaper do not fit together, so caregivers cut holes and stack diapers. That workaround leaves stool right next to the tube, a known path to CAUTI.
CathEase™ is designed to replace that workaround with one product built for the job.
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Older adults with incontinence associated dermatitis risk
Aging skin is thinner and slower to heal, and may be more sensitive to contact with mixed waste.
In adults, IAD can progress to skin breakdown and secondary infection. Harlows™ is designed for every diapered patient, not just babies.
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The people who care for them
Parents, family caregivers and nurses do this work every day, often with no better option.
DiviDiaper is designing for the people who do this work. Tell us what you need.
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THE DIVIDIAPER STORY
Born from a surgical "hack" that failed.
DiviDiaper started with two parents, one child, and a "standard of care" that left him exposed.
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The Beginning
Harlow's surgeries, and a workaround that failed him
Harlow Jeffers was born with hypospadias, a condition where the urethra opens on the underside of the penis instead of the tip. Correcting it took several reconstructive surgeries between ages one and three. Each one left fresh stitches, a urinary catheter, and weeks of careful recovery. The hospital's answer for diapering after surgery was not a medical product. It was a workaround: cut a hole in the front of one diaper, thread the catheter through it, and place a second diaper underneath to catch the urine.
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The Moment
"If you have to hack it, it's broken."
One day, when Tivon went to change Harlow, stool had spread onto his fresh stitches. The workaround had failed. If a hospital has to hack a product to make it work, the product is broken. So they set out to fix the product.
"What about a divider? What if we could separate the urine from the stool and keep it away from the surgical area?"
Tivon Jeffers, Co-Founder and CEO -
The Prototype
From a sketch to a working sample
Tivon started sketching. With LisaRoxanne, he designed a diaper with a soft, elastic divider inside and, for when a catheter was needed, a front compartment with a port for the tube. They built the first sample by hand and tried it on Harlow. In their experience at home, the front held the urine and the back held the stool.
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Clinical Recognition
A surgeon takes notice
They showed the samples to Harlow's surgeon, Dr. Dix Poppas, Chief of Pediatric Urology at Weill Cornell Medicine, who saw its potential. DiviDiaper was founded in New York and went on to win the INDA RISE® Innovation Award. FOX 5 New York ran the story: "Son's surgeries spur New York couple to invent new diaper."
"Just a better diaper that makes good sense, and should be used by all needing diapers."
Dr. Dix Poppas, Chief of Pediatric Urology, Weill Cornell Medicine, on FOX 5 New York 
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Today
From one child to every patient
The platform is covered by a U.S. patent granted in 2026, and an evaluation agreement is secured with a major NYC academic medical center, ready to commence upon inventory delivery. A leading diaper machine maker has engineered and priced a path to high-speed production. The goal is for waste isolation to reach every patient, from the NICU to long-term care.
Industry Recognition
Community
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