Surface injection device

Abstract

A needle-free transdermal transport device (100) for non-axially transferring a substance across a surface of a biological body includes a reservoir (110) for holding a substance being transferred. A piston (105) is positioned within the device in communication with the reservoir (110) . An actuator (105) drives the piston (105) to expel the substance from the reservoir (110) . The reservoir (110) is in fluid communication with a nozzle (115) which includes at least one lateral aperture (145) through which the substance is expelled. Multiple lateral apertures (145) can result in a needle-free transfer across a selectable surface area. The depth and direction of an injection can be controlled by the parameters of the nozzle (115) . By providing a selective depth and direction, it is possible to inject a substance into a targeted biological layer, such as a cleavage plane to further promote coverage. A control source can be used to activate the device (100) . The device (108) can also include an optional power source (125) .

Description

technical field [0001] This application claims the benefit of US Provisional Application No. 60 / 652,483, filed February 11, 2005. The entire teachings of the aforementioned applications are incorporated herein by reference. Background technique [0002] Injecting a fluid (eg, a drug) into a patient or agricultural animal can be done in a variety of different ways. One of the easiest modes of drug delivery is through the skin, the outermost protective layer of the body. The skin includes the superficial layers, which include the stratum corneum, the granular layer, the spinous layer, the basal layer, and the dermis, which includes the capillary layer. The stratum corneum is a rough, scaly layer made of dead tissue. The stratum corneum extends approximately 10-20 microns outward from the skin surface and has no blood supply. Because of the thickness of this cell layer, it is very difficult to transport compounds across the skin into and out of the body. [0003] Current m...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

However, these methods suffer from several major drawbacks: localized skin damage, bleeding, risk of infection at the injection site, and the resulting problem of contaminated needles and scalpels that must be disposed of.

Also, when the above-mentioned devices are used to inject drugs into agricultural livestock animals, the needles sometimes break and become embedded in the animals

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