A device for administering a liquid to a human by injection, a combination of such a device with a syringe comprising an individual dose of the liquid and a hypodermic needle, and a method of operating the syringe.

Abstract

1. A device (1) for administering a liquid (38) to a person by injection of the liquid (38), the device (1) comprising a movement device (3) arranged to move a gripping element (5) for gripping a syringe (2), the syringe (2) comprising an individual dose of the liquid (38) and an injection needle (34), preferably comprising a housing (26) and an actuation member (33) for expelling the liquid (38) from the syringe (2) via the injection needle (34), the gripping element (5) comprising a first component (20) for engaging with the housing (26), the gripping element (5) comprising a second component (21) for actuating the actuation member (33), the first component (20) and the second component (21) being slidable against each other, the first component (20) being connected to the movement device (3) via the second component (21).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for administering a liquid to a person by injection, a combination of such a device with a syringe comprising an individual dose of the liquid and an injection needle, and a method of operating the syringe.

[0002] In particular, the present invention relates to such a device adapted to automatically administer a liquid to a person using a disposable syringe for injection, each syringe comprising a needle and an individual supply, in other words a supply intended for an individual of a liquid such as a vaccine.

[0003] In particular, such syringes are adapted for intradermal and / or subcutaneous injection. This means that they are adapted to insert the injection needle into the human body only up to a specific desired depth corresponding to the injection depth for intradermal or subcutaneous injection.

[0004] In particular, such syringes are adapted to administer an injection with a very limited number of operations that do not require special training or experience.

[0005] Such syringes are known, for example, from WO2013 / 156524, WO2017 / 168015, WO2016 / 117164A1 and US8066680B2. Nevertheless, such syringes require a person to operate them and perform an injection, in other words to operate them to administer the liquid.

[0006] The present invention aims to reduce the number of people required for liquid administration and to increase the reproducibility of liquid administration, and thus relates to a device for administering a liquid to a person by liquid administration, the device comprising a moving device configured to move a gripping element for gripping a syringe, the syringe comprising an individual dose of the liquid and an injection needle.

[0007] Preferably, the gripping element is movable between different spatial positions by a moving device. The moving device is considered to be any device that can automatically move an object (in this case, a syringe) between different spatial positions relative to a fixed point of the moving device, whereby the preferably intended movement of the moving device is programmable, and whereby preferably the moving device is configured to lift and release such an object at predetermined spatial positions and repeat this.

[0008] An example and a preferred embodiment of such a moving device is a robotic arm.

[0009] Due to such a device according to the invention, the injection of a liquid can be administered to a large number of people in an easy, rapid, and reproducible manner. This has the further advantage that little or no contact between medical personnel and said people is necessary. Also, the surface of such a device can be easily disinfected manually or automatically. Both of these factors help to reduce the risk of infection with infectious viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 when it is necessary to administer a liquid to a large number of people, for example, in a large-scale vaccination campaign.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment, the moving device preferably has a movable part configured to move between different positions, and the gripping element is provided on the movable part.

[0011] In a preferred embodiment, the moving device is arranged to move the gripping element between different positions.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment, the moving device is a robotic arm, the movable part is the end of the robotic arm, the end is arranged to move between different positions, and the end comprises the gripping element.

[0013] A robotic arm means a movable mechanical arm equipped with one or more drive devices that can move without human intervention based on signals received by one or more drive devices from an optionally programmable control unit.

[0014] The robotic arm is not intended to mean a device that senses the movement of a human arm and enhances its function. Preferably, the robotic arm is a multi-joint robot.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment, the different spatial positions include a first position for gripping the syringe by the gripping element, an injection position for operating the syringe, and a second position for removing the syringe from the gripping element.

[0016] In a preferred embodiment, the device is arranged to autonomously grip the syringe by the gripping element and autonomously remove the syringe from the gripping element, where autonomously means without human intervention except for activating the device and providing the syringe to be gripped by the gripping element.

[0017] In a preferred embodiment, the device comprises a positioning unit for positioning and temporarily fixing the limb of the human body to be injected. Thereby, the administration of the liquid can be performed in a reliable and reproducible manner because the limb where the administration is performed is always in the same position.

[0018] Preferably, the positioning unit comprises a first clamping member having a first surface and a second clamping member having a second surface, and the second surface is movable relative to the first clamping member in a direction at least partially perpendicular to the first surface, thereby clamping the limb between the first clamping member and the second clamping member.

[0019] Preferably, the first surface is located above the second surface.

[0020] In a preferred embodiment, the second clamping member is an air cushion. As a result, the limbs can be temporarily fixed in a reproducible, reversible, rapid and automated manner, thereby greatly limiting the load on the limbs and thus the risk of injury or discomfort.

[0021] In a preferred embodiment, the positioning unit comprises a passage for passing or allowing a syringe or part of a syringe to pass through. In this case, the positioning unit preferably has an operating state, i.e., a state in which the limb is fixed, where a part of the outer surface of the limb is pushed by the positioning unit against a surface surrounding the end of the passage. As a result, the part of the limb to be injected is always in exactly the same spatial position, and the injection can be performed in a reliable manner.

[0022] In this case, the surface surrounding the end of the passage preferably forms part of the first surface. Also preferably, the passage is arranged within the first clamping member.

[0023] In a preferred embodiment, the limb is an arm having a hand, and the positioning unit comprises a handrest for the hand.

[0024] In a preferred embodiment, the device is adapted to place a syringe on the limb.

[0025] In a preferred embodiment, the device is arranged to operate the syringe, i.e., to move liquid from the syringe through the injection needle, and more preferably, the gripping element is arranged to operate the syringe.

[0026] In a preferred embodiment, the device is adapted to place the syringe on the limb by means of a linear movement of the movable part of the moving device and / or the gripping element and to operate it by continuing the same linear movement of the movable part and / or the gripping element, the linear movement preferably being a downward movement. Thereby, the injection can be administered in a simple manner with a limited number of controllable actuators.

[0027] In a preferred embodiment, the syringe comprises a housing and an operating member for moving liquid out of the syringe via a needle, the gripping element comprises a first component for engaging with the housing, the gripping element comprises a second component for operating the operating member, the first component and the second component are preferably slidable against each other in the direction of said linear movement, and the first component is connected to the moving device only via the second component.

[0028] As a result, both the positioning and the operation are carried out by a single linear movement. Since the first component and the second component are resistant to each other, the first part of the linear movement moves the housing so that the syringe is accurately positioned, i.e., positioned relative to the limb to be injected, without the risk of operating the operating member. When the housing is correctly positioned, further movement of the housing is restricted by the limb to be injected, etc., and as a result, the resistance is overcome and the operating member is operated during the second part of the linear movement.

[0029] In a preferred embodiment, the device comprises a supply station for supplying syringes and a receiving station for receiving used syringes, the gripping element is adapted to move from the supply station to an application position, also called an injection position, i.e., the position where the liquid is administered to a person, and then to the receiving station, the gripping element is adapted to receive the syringe from the supply station, and the device is adapted to release the used syringe from the gripping element at the receiving station.

[0030] Thereby, all the operations necessary for injecting the liquid can be performed and repeated without the intervention of a person.

[0031] In a preferred embodiment, the robotic arm is a robotic arm having at least five axes, and the axes are oriented such that the orientation of the gripping element relative to a reference point outside the device can be kept constant with respect to the spatial movement of the end of the robotic arm.

[0032] Preferably, the device is a device for administering a liquid intradermally or subcutaneously. When the liquid is a vaccine, intradermal administration requires less liquid than intramuscular administration.

[0033] In a preferred embodiment, the device comprises means for opening the package of the syringe, and the means for opening the package is attached to the gripping element or the end of the robotic arm and preferably forms part of the gripping element.

[0034] As a result, the syringe does not need to be removed manually and / or in advance from the protective package, and as a result, the number of human actions is limited and it is prevented that more or fewer syringes than necessary are removed from the protective package.

[0035] The invention also relates to a combination of a device according to the invention and at least one syringe comprising individual doses of liquid and a hypodermic needle.

[0036] In preferred embodiments of the device and the combination, the liquid is a vaccine.

[0037] In preferred embodiments of the device and the combination, the syringe comprises a housing and an operating member for moving the liquid out of the syringe via the hypodermic needle.

[0038] In preferred embodiments of the device and the combination, the syringe has a storage state in which the hypodermic needle is located within a protective cap, and the syringe has a use state in which the hypodermic needle protrudes outside the protective cap, and preferably, the syringe is adapted to transition from the storage state to the use state by placing the protective cap on the limb of the person to be injected and subsequently pushing the housing towards the protective cap.

[0039] In preferred embodiments of the device and the combination, the syringe and / or the device is provided with safety means for preventing the hypodermic needle from being inserted deeper than a specific depth into the limb.

[0040] In preferred embodiments of the device and the combination, the syringe is a syringe adapted to be used once.

[0041] In preferred embodiments of the device and the combination, the syringe is adapted for intradermal or subcutaneous injection of a liquid and preferably includes a safety feature that makes other types of injection difficult or impossible.

[0042] Preferably, the syringe is an injection device as defined in claim 14 or 15 of WO2017 / 168015, or an intradermal injection device as defined in any one of the claims of EP2844317B1, or an intradermal delivery device as defined in any one of the claims of US2002 / 045858A1. Mu.

[0043] For completeness, it should be noted that the syringe may be a syringe with only one needle, but may also be a syringe with two or more needles, such as two or eight needles, adapted to penetrate the skin together. This is also known as a "needle array".

[0044] The present invention also relates to a method for operating a syringe, the method including a positioning step for positioning the syringe on a human limb, in which positioning step a syringe with individual doses of the liquid to be injected and with a needle is lifted by a moving device in a first position and moved by the moving device from the first position to the limb and placed on the limb. This is a method for preparing for an injection simply, quickly and inexpensively without the need for human intervention.

[0045] In a preferred variant, after the placement step, the method includes a removal step in which the syringe is moved by the moving device from the limb to a second position, whereby the syringe is removed from the moving device at this second position. This is a simple, quick and inexpensive method for performing post-injection operations without the need for human intervention.

[0046] In a preferred variation, before the placement step is completed, the limbs are temporarily fixed by the positioning unit so that injection becomes easier.

[0047] In a preferred variation, in the method of operating the syringe, the combination according to the present invention is used.

[0048] In the above-described method and its variations, the method excludes any medical aspects and is limited to one or more steps performed before injection and after removing the injection needle from a person's limb.

[0049] Alternatively, the method according to the present invention can be defined as the use of a device according to the present invention for receiving a syringe comprising individual doses of the liquid to be injected and comprising an injection needle, and for placing this syringe on a person's limb.

[0050] In a preferred variation of the use, the liquid is then preferably injected into the limb intradermally or subcutaneously by the device.

[0051] When the liquid is a vaccine, intradermal administration requires a smaller amount of liquid than intramuscular administration.

[0052] The present invention also relates to a method of injecting a liquid into a human body, in which a syringe comprising individual doses of the liquid to be injected, comprising an injection needle, and comprising an operating member for moving the liquid out of the syringe through the injection needle is used, the syringe is lifted by a moving device and placed on the limb of the person to be injected, subsequently the injection needle is inserted into the limb of the person to be injected by the moving device, and then the control member is operated by the moving device.

[0053] Preferably, after the operating member has been operated, the moving device moves the syringe from the limb to a position where the syringe is removed from the moving device.

[0054] In a preferred variation of the method of injecting a liquid into a human body, the combination according to the present invention is used.

[0055] In a more limited variation, the present invention may be defined in accordance with the following clauses:

[0056] Clause 1: A device for administering a liquid to a human by liquid administration, said device comprising a robotic arm having an end arranged to move between different positions, said end comprising a gripping element for gripping a syringe, said syringe comprising an individual dose of said liquid and a hypodermic needle.

[0057] Clause 2: The device according to clause 1, wherein the device comprises a positioning unit for positioning and temporarily fixing the limb of the human body to be injected, said positioning unit comprising a first clamping member having a first surface and a second clamping member having a second surface, said second surface being movable relative to said first clamping member in a direction at least partially perpendicular to said first surface, thereby clamping said limb between said first clamping member and said second clamping member.

[0058] Clause 3: The device according to clause 2, wherein said second clamping member is an air cushion.

[0059] Clause 4: The device according to clause 2 or 3, wherein the positioning unit comprises a passage for the passage of said syringe or a part of said syringe.

[0060] Clause 5: The device according to any one of the above clauses, arranged such that the syringe is placed on the limb by a linear movement of the end of the robotic arm and is operated by continuing said linear movement of the end of the robotic arm, said linear movement preferably being a downward movement.

[0061] Clause 6: - The syringe is a syringe comprising a housing and an operating member for moving the liquid out of the syringe through the injection needle, the gripping element comprising a first component for engaging with the housing, the gripping element comprising a second component for operating the operating member, the first component and the second component being slidable against each other with resistance, and the first component being connected to the robotic arm via the second component, the device according to any one of the preceding clauses.

[0062] Clause 7: - The device is a device for administering the liquid intradermally or subcutaneously, characterized in that it is the device according to any one of the preceding clauses.

[0063] Clause 8: The device comprises means for opening the package of the syringe, the means for opening the package being attached to the end of the robotic arm and preferably forming part of the gripping element, the device according to any one of the preceding clauses.

[0064] Clause 9: A method for operating a syringe, the method comprising a positioning step for positioning the syringe on a human limb, in which positioning step a syringe comprising individual doses of the liquid to be injected and an injection needle is lifted by a robotic arm in a first position and moved by the robotic arm from the first position to the limb and placed on the limb.

[0065] Clause 10: The method according to clause 9, comprising, after the positioning step, a removal step in which the syringe is moved by the robotic arm from the limb to a second position, whereby the syringe is removed from the robotic arm at this second position.

[0066] Clause 11: The method according to clause 9 or 10, in which the limb is temporarily fixed by a positioning unit before the placement step is completed.

[0067] Clause 12: A method according to any of Clauses 10 to 12, wherein the device according to any one of Clauses 1 to 8 is used.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0068] To better explain the present invention, the following drawings are referred to to describe preferred embodiments of the device and combination according to the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment:

[0069]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 13

Figure 14

Figure 15

Figure 16

Figure 17

Figure 18

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0070] The illustrated device 1 and syringe 2 are a device and a syringe for intradermally injecting a liquid into a person.

[0071] The device 1 mainly consists of a robotic arm 3 and an arm holder 4 for fixing the forearm of the person to be injected. Of course, the device 1 also includes a control unit (not shown) for controlling the movement of the robotic arm 3 and other movable parts of the device 1.

[0072] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the robotic arm 3 is a five-axis robotic arm A1, A2, A3, A4, A5. At the end of the robotic arm 3, a gripping element 5 for receiving and operating an automatic syringe 2 for administering an intradermal injection is attached.

[0073] The robotic arm 3 having five axes A1, A2, A3, A4, A5 is arranged such that the gripping element 5 can be kept in the same orientation anywhere within the reach of the robotic arm 3, whereby the end of the robotic arm 3, and thus the attached gripping element 5, can rotate around the vertical geometric axis A5 passing through that end.

[0074] The arm holder 4 shown in detail in FIG. 3 includes a short tunnel 6 formed by an annular tunnel body 7 for receiving the forearm 8 of the person to be injected, and a handrest 9 for the person's hand. The tunnel body 7 and the handrest 9 are spaced apart from each other such that a part of the forearm 8 is located within the tunnel 6 when the palm of the hand is placed on the handrest 9.

[0075] The tunnel body 7 has an inner surface. A vertical passage 10 for the syringe 2 to pass through is arranged at the upper part of the tunnel body 7. The bottom of this passage 10 is surrounded by the upper part 11 of the inner surface of the tunnel body 7. An inflatable air cushion 12 is arranged at the bottom of the tunnel 6. The air cushion 12 has an upper surface 13 that can move upward by inflating the air cushion 12.

[0076] The device 1 includes a supply station 15 for the syringe 2 to be used. In this example, this supply station 15 is formed by overlapping holes in the housing of the device 1, and a package 16 containing the syringe 2 can be appropriately fitted into each of the holes. For clarity, in FIG. 1 rather than other figures, such a package 16 is shown outside the supply station 15, but it should be noted that such a package 16 is not in that position during normal use.

[0077] The device 1 includes a receiving station 17 for the used syringe 2, which mainly consists of a container 18 for the used syringe 2 and a specially shaped pin 19 arranged on the container 18, which can cooperate with the gripping element 5 to release the syringe 2 from the robot arm 3 as will be described below.

[0078] Due to the five axes A1, A2, A3, A4, A5 of the robot arm 3, the end of the robot arm 3 can be moved, where the gripping element 5 with its main axis always remains oriented in the vertical direction and the gripping element 5 can rotate about its main axis.

[0079] As shown in detail in FIGS. 4, 5, 14 and 15, the gripping element 5 mainly consists of a first outer component 20 and a second inner component 21, and the gripping element 5 is attached to the end of the robot arm 3 by these components. The lower part of the second component 21 is slidable vertically within the first component 20. A compression spring 23 is arranged between the first component 20 and the second component 21 so that the second component 21 can only be moved resistantly within the first component 20. The second component 21 is provided with an abutment 24 on its bottom surface for contacting the plunger of the syringe 2.

[0080] In the first component 20, a receiving cavity 25 is provided for receiving the housing 26 of the syringe 2.

[0081] Also, the first component 20 includes a hook element 27 having one or more, in this example two hooks 28 for holding the syringe 2 to the gripping element 5, and a guide groove 29 for the pin 19. The hook element 27 is spring-loaded and is swingably suspended from the first component 20 and is biased by a spring so that the hook element 27 is maintained in the state as shown in FIG. 4. A small knife 30 is arranged below the first component 20 to enable the package 16 of the syringe 2 to be opened.

[0082] In this example, the syringe 2 is, although not necessarily, a disposable syringe 2 known by the name VAX-ID of Novosanis, Belgium. This syringe 2 is known from WO2017 / 168015, but for the sake of completeness, the structure and operation of the syringe 2 will be briefly described. The syringe 2 is shown in detail in FIGS. 6 - 8 and 14 in the storage state and in FIG. 15 in the operating state.

[0083] The syringe 2 mainly consists of a housing 26 in which a syringe 32 equipped with a plunger 33 and a needle 34 is arranged. In this example, the housing 26 consists of the original housing 26a of the VAX-ID syringe 2 and an additional housing shell 26b for cooperating the syringe 2 with the gripping element 5. In particular, when the syringe 2 is coupled to the gripping element 5 so that the syringe 2 can be held by the gripping element 5, the housing 26 is provided with one or more, in this example two projections 35 on the housing 26 that cooperate with the hook element 27 for this purpose.

[0084] The syringe 2 is provided with a protective cap 36 in which the needle 34 is located in a storage state. The protective cap 36 is slidable upward against the housing 26. The distance that the protective cap 36 and the housing 26 can move relative to each other is limited.

[0085] The lower part of the housing 26 forms a flat surface 37 surrounding the needle 34, from which the needle 34 projects a short distance, in this example 0.85 mm.

[0086] The syringe 32 is pre-filled with a liquid 38 to be injected, in this example a vaccine, such as a BCG vaccine or a rabies vaccine or a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2.

[0087] The operation of the device 1 and the combination according to the present invention is shown below and in FIGS. 9 to 18. At the start, the air cushion 12 is not inflated and the device 1 is in the neutral state shown in FIG. 1.

[0088] First, the person to receive the injection passes his hand and forearm 8 through the tunnel 6 and places the palm of his hand on the handrest 9. The forearm 8 of this person is located between the air cushion 12 and the upper part of the tunnel body 7.

[0089] The robotic arm 3, with the help of the blade 30 at the bottom of the gripping element 5, begins to make a cross-cut 39 on the upper part of the package 16 of the syringe 2. This cross-cut 39 can be clearly seen in FIG. 10. This cross-cut 39 is possible because the end of the robotic arm 3 can rotate around the vertical geometric axis A5 so that the blade 30 can make two cuts in directions perpendicular to each other.

[0090] Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 16, the robotic arm 3 first lowers the gripping element 5 into the package 16 just above the pre-filled and immediately usable syringe 2 located within the package 16, and then above the syringe 2.

[0091] Here, as shown in FIG. 17, the hook element 27 is pushed against its spring tension until the hook 28 of the hook element 27 is placed under the protrusion 35 of the housing 26 of the syringe 2, and then, as shown in FIG. 18, the hook element 27 returns to its original position due to the tension of its spring.

[0092] Here, the syringe 2 is placed within the receiving cavity 25 of the first component 20 of the gripping element 5, and the syringe 2 is held in place by the hook 28 of the hook element 27. The currently obtained state of the device 1 is shown in FIG. 9, and the currently obtained state of the gripping element 5 and the syringe 2 is shown in cross-section in FIG. 14.

[0093] Subsequently, the air cushion 12 expands, as a result of which the human forearm 8 is pushed upward by the air cushion 12 and clamped between the tunnel body 7, particularly at its upper inner surface 11, and the air cushion 12, particularly at its upper surface 13. The state of the human forearm 8 before and after the expansion of the air cushion 12 is shown in cross-section in FIGS. 12 and 13, respectively. By the air cushion 12, the human forearm 8 is clamped in a gentle, painless, and harmless manner.

[0094] Subsequently, the end of the robotic arm 3 is moved towards the arm holder 4 until the syringe 2 is positioned above the passage 10 in the tunnel body 7. The end of the robotic arm 3 now slowly descends. As a result, the protective cap 36 of the syringe 2 is placed on the skin of the human forearm 8.

[0095] The housing 26 of the syringe 2 is partially pushed into the protective cap 36 and the downward movement of the end of the robotic arm 3 continues so that it slides there, and as a result, finally, the injection needle 34 extends from the protective cap 36 and penetrates the skin of the forearm 8. The syringe 2 is now in the ready-to-use state. In this ready-to-use state, both the protective cap 36 and the housing 26 are moved relative to each other by their maximum distance.

[0096] During the aforementioned downward movement of the end of the robotic arm 3, the first component 20 and the second component 21 of the gripping element 5 remain in the same relative position to each other, thanks to the compression spring 23.

[0097] The flat surface 37 at the lower part of the housing 26 of the syringe 2 acts as a skin abutment surrounding the penetration point of the injection needle 34 into the skin, so that the injection needle 34 cannot penetrate deeper into the skin than the assumed depth of 0.85 mm such that the tip of the injection needle 34 has an intradermal position.

[0098] The downward movement of the end of the robotic arm 3 is continued.

[0099] Since the housing 26 of the syringe 2 cannot move further downwards, the resistance of the compression spring 23 is overcome and the second component 21 of the gripping element 5 slides into the first component 20 until the abutment 24 contacts the plunger 33 of the syringe 32 and then further pushes the plunger 33 downwards. As a result, the liquid 38 in the syringe 32 is pushed out of the syringe 2 through the injection needle 34 and injected intradermally. In Figure 15, the moment when the abutment 24 contacts the plunger 33 during the downward movement of the gripping element 5 and the syringe 2 is shown.

[0100] Note that in order to complete this, the downward movement of the end of the robotic arm 3 in this example is a linear and continuous movement, but not necessarily so.

[0101] The end of the robotic arm 3 is moved to the receiving station 17 where the gripping element 5 is oriented such that the end of the pin 19 is located within the guide groove 29 of the gripping element 5. The end of the robotic arm 3 moves slowly downward, thereby pushing the end of the pin 19 against the abutment of the hook element 27 and rotating the hook element 27 against the spring tension, so that the hook 28 is removed from under the projection 35 of the housing 26 of the syringe 2.

[0102] As a result, the used syringe 2 falls from the gripping element 5 by gravity and ends up in the container 18 for safe disposal.

[0103] This concludes the injection. The valve communicating with the air cushion 12 now opens and air flows out of the air cushion 12, allowing the person to remove his arm from the arm holder 4. Thus, the device 1 is ready to perform the next injection.

[0104] Of course, the above-described device 1 and syringe 2 can also be used for subcutaneous injection, in particular by increasing the distance by which the injection needle 34 projects from the lower part of the housing 26 to a distance between 1.2 and 5.0 mm.

[0105] Although the right arm is shown in the figure, it is clear that both the left and right arms of a person can be placed in the arm holder 4 and used for performing an injection.

Claims

**Claim 1** A device (1) for administering a liquid (38) to a human by injection of the liquid (38), the device (1) comprising a moving device (3) arranged to move a gripping element (5) for gripping a syringe (2), the syringe (2) comprising individual doses of the liquid (38) and an injection needle (34), the syringe (2) comprising a housing (26) and an operating member (33) for moving the liquid (38) out of the syringe (2) via the injection needle (34), the gripping element (5) comprising a first component (20) for engaging with the housing (26), the gripping element (5) comprising a second component (21) for operating the operating member (33), the first component (20) and the second component (21) being slidable relative to each other with resistance, and the syringe (2) having a face (37) at a lower part of the housing (26) of the syringe (2), the first component (20) being connected to the moving device (3) via the second component (21). **Claim 2** The device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the device (1) is arranged to place the syringe (2) on a limb (8) by a linear movement of a movable part of the moving device (3) and to operate the syringe by continuing the linear movement of the movable part. **Claim 3** The device (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the linear movement is a downward movement. **Claim 4** The device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the device (1) is arranged to enable the syringe (2) to be gripped autonomously by the gripping element (5) and to be removed from the gripping element (5) autonomously. **Claim 5** The device (1) comprises a positioning unit (4) for positioning and temporarily fixing the limb (8) of the human body to be injected, the positioning unit (4) comprising a first clamping member (7) having a first surface (11) and a second clamping member (12) having a second surface (13), the second surface (13) being movable relative to the first clamping member (7) in a direction at least partially perpendicular to the first surface (11), thereby clamping the limb (8) between the first clamping member (7) and the second clamping member (12). The device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The device (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that the second clamping member (12) is an air cushion (12).

7. The device (1) according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the positioning unit (4) comprises a passage (10) for passing the syringe (2) or a part of the syringe (2).

8. The device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the moving device (3) is a robotic arm, the robotic arm comprising an end arranged to move between different positions, the end comprising the gripping element (5).

9. The device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the moving device (3) is arranged to move the gripping element (5) between different spatial positions comprising a first position for gripping the syringe (2) by the gripping element (5), an injection position for operating the syringe (2), and a second position for removing the syringe (2) from the gripping element (5).

10. A combination of the device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 9 and at least one syringe (2) comprising individual doses of liquid (38) and a hypodermic needle (34).

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