Cassette, drug injection device and drug injection system

Abstract

To provide a cassette that allows for proper management of drugs and injections.SOLUTION: A cassette 100 includes: a cassette body which includes a cassette columnar space that can store at least a portion of a drug cartridge, an injection needle attachment part that is located at a tip of the cassette columnar space and to / from which an injection needle can be attached / detached and a body opening that is located at a rear end of the cassette columnar space and can access the cassette columnar space; a cassette cap which is supported near the rear end of the cassette body to allow opening and closing of the body opening; and a hood 140 which includes a hood body 141 that is supported by the cassette body so as to be rotatable between a first position covering the injection needle attachment part of the cassette body and a second position exposing the injection needle attachment part, a needle concealer which is supported in a movable manner by the hood body between the protrusion position protruding with respect to the hood body and the storage position storing at least a portion in the hood body, and a biasing member 143 which biases the needle concealer in a direction of the protrusion position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present application relates to a cassette for storing medical drug cartridges, a drug injection device, and a drug injection system. [Background technology]

[0002] Patients suffering from certain diseases may be prescribed medications such as insulin or growth hormone that require several injections per day. To allow patients to inject such medications themselves (also known as self-injection), various drug injection devices have been put to practical use, as disclosed in Patent Document 1 and elsewhere. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2014-516634 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Depending on the specifications or prescription, a drug cartridge may contain an amount of drug that is to be injected in multiple doses. In such cases, it is preferable to properly manage the drug. Furthermore, performing multiple injections every day can be cumbersome for patients in various respects. In view of these circumstances, the present application provides a drug cartridge, cassette, drug injection device, and drug injection system that can properly manage drugs and injections or reduce the burden on the operator. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] A drug cartridge according to one embodiment of the present disclosure comprises a cylinder having a cylindrical cylindrical space extending longitudinally, a gasket supported within the space so as to be movable longitudinally, a drug held within the space, the drug including at least a liquid first component, a first temperature sensor and an RF tag arranged on the side of the cylinder, wherein the RF tag stores drug information including at least information indicating the type of the drug, and in response to an external command, wirelessly transmits to the outside the information indicating at least the type of drug and first temperature information indicating the temperature detected by the first temperature sensor.

[0006] a control device for controlling the motor driver, the control device for controlling the motor driver, the control device for controlling the control device, and the display device; wherein, when the drug cartridge is loaded into the housing space, the control device controls the control device to receive, via the antenna, drug information including information indicating the type of drug in the drug cartridge transmitted from the RF tag of the drug cartridge and first temperature information detected by the first temperature sensor, the control device determines a drive power for the motor based on the first temperature information, and the control device controls the control device to output the determined drive power. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] The present disclosure provides a pharmaceutical injection device that is capable of performing appropriate management. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a pharmaceutical injection system including a cassette, a pharmaceutical injection device, and a charger. [Figure 2] 2(a), 2(b), and 2(c) are perspective views illustrating how the medicine cartridge is housed in the cassette. [Figure 3] Figures 3(a), 3(b), and 3(c) are perspective views illustrating how the cassette is placed in the pharmaceutical injection device. [Figure 4] 4(a) and 4(b) are perspective views illustrating the state of injection. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the electrical circuitry of the pharmaceutical injection device. [Figure 6A] FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating how the pharmaceutical injection device is set in the charger. [Figure 6B] FIG. 6B is a front view showing the pharmaceutical injection device set in the charger. [Figure 7A] FIG. 7A is a cross section parallel to the longitudinal direction of the drug cartridge. [Figure 7B] FIG. 7B is a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the drug cartridge. [Figure 8A] FIG. 8A is a schematic plan view of an RF tag. [Figure 8B] FIG. 8B is a schematic plan view of another RF tag. [Figure 9A] FIG. 9A shows a schematic cross section of another drug cartridge. [Figure 9B] FIG. 9B is a schematic cross-sectional view of another medicine cartridge taken along line 9B-9B in FIG. 9A. [Figure 10] 10(a) and 10(b) are schematic diagrams illustrating the movement of liquid components. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of the hood of the cassette. [Figure 12] 12(a) and 12(b) are diagrams illustrating the attachment of the needle unit to the cassette. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view of the pharmaceutical injection device with the device housing removed. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the pharmaceutical injection device showing the placement of the RF-ID antenna. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of the piston drive mechanism. [Figure 16A] FIG. 16A is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship between the RF tag of the pharmaceutical cartridge and the antenna in the pharmaceutical injection device. [Figure 16B] FIG. 16B is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship between the RF tag of the pharmaceutical cartridge and the antenna in the pharmaceutical injection device. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 shows an example of PWM drive information. [Figure 18A] FIG. 18A shows an example of the starting current that occurs when PWM control is not performed. [Figure 18B] FIG. 18B shows an example of the starting current under PWM control in this embodiment. [Figure 19A] FIG. 19A is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the pharmaceutical injection device during an injection operation. [Figure 19B] FIG. 19B is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the pharmaceutical injection device during the injection operation. [Figure 19C] FIG. 19C is a flowchart illustrating the reminding operation. [Figure 20] FIG. 20 shows an example of the detection result of the touch sensor. [Figure 21] FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating the injection operation of a pharmaceutical injection device that uses a touch sensor. [Figure 22] FIG. 22 is a schematic diagram illustrating the directions of the three axes of the acceleration sensor. [Figure 23] FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram illustrating a portion from which air is difficult to remove during air removal. [Figure 24] FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram illustrating a posture suitable for air evacuation. [Figure 25] FIG. 25 is a flowchart illustrating the air venting operation using the acceleration sensor. [Figure 26]FIG. 26 is a flowchart illustrating the mixing operation. [Figure 27] FIG. 27 is a schematic diagram showing the zones used in the mixing operation. [Figure 28] FIG. 28 is a schematic diagram illustrating the air venting operation. [Figure 29] FIG. 29 is an exploded perspective view showing a part of the piston drive mechanism including the rotary encoder. [Figure 30] FIG. 30 is a plan view of the encoder plate. [Figure 31] FIG. 31 shows an example of a pulse signal. [Figure 32] FIG. 32 is a block diagram showing an example of a failure determiner. [Figure 33] FIG. 33 shows an example of an image displaying information stored in an RF tag. [Figure 34] 34(a) to 34(c) show examples of images displayed during the air venting operation. [Figure 35] Figures 35(a) and 35(b) show examples of images that prompt the operator to maintain the same state until the operation of the pharmaceutical injection device is complete. [Figure 36] Figures 36(a) to 36(f) show examples of images that prompt the user to attach the needle unit and remove the needle case. [Figure 37] Figures 37(a) to 37(f) show examples of images displayed during injection. [Figure 38A] FIG. 38A is a front view showing the loading of a drug cartridge into the drug injection device. [Figure 38B] FIG. 38B is a front view showing the loading of a drug cartridge into the drug injection device. [Figure 38C] FIG. 38C is a front view showing the loading of a drug cartridge into the drug injection device. [Figure 39] FIG. 39 is a diagram illustrating how a needle unit is attached to a drug cartridge loaded into a drug injection device and how a used injection needle is removed. [Figure 40]FIG. 40 is a diagram illustrating how a needle unit is attached to a drug cartridge loaded into a drug injection device and how a used injection needle is removed. [Figure 41] FIG. 41 is a diagram illustrating how a needle unit is attached to a drug cartridge loaded into a drug injection device and how a used injection needle is removed. [Figure 42] FIG. 42 is a diagram illustrating how an injection is performed using the pharmaceutical injection device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] When a drug cartridge contains a multiple-dose amount of drug, it is preferable to store a partially used drug cartridge or drug injection device that still has drug remaining in it in a cool place such as a refrigerator to prevent drug deterioration. However, storing drug in a cool place increases the viscosity of the drug due to the low temperature. Therefore, if the drug cartridge or drug injection device is removed from the cool place and an injection is immediately performed, the highly viscous drug must be ejected from a small-diameter injection needle, which places a heavy load on the injection motor, making it difficult to properly control the motor. Furthermore, some patients experience pain when cold drug is injected.

[0010] For this reason, it is generally recommended that the drug cartridge or drug injection device be left at room temperature for several tens of minutes after being removed from a cold place, and that the drug be injected only after its temperature has risen to about room temperature. This can solve the above-mentioned problems.

[0011] However, since the waiting time until an injection is possible is essentially included in the time required for one injection, a short waiting time is preferable for the patient. Also, it is preferable that the pain of the injection is minimal. On the other hand, it is preferable that the drug injection device be appropriately controlled according to the viscosity of the drug.

[0012] In light of these issues, the present inventors have conceived of a drug cartridge, cassette, drug injection device, and drug injection system that allow for appropriate management and reduce the burden on the operator. The drug cartridge, cassette, drug injection device, and drug injection system disclosed herein are as follows.

[0013] [Item 1] a cylinder having a cylindrical cylindrical space extending in a longitudinal direction; a gasket supported within the cylinder columnar space so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction; a drug held within the cylindrical space, the drug including at least a liquid first component; a first temperature sensor and an RF tag disposed on a side surface of the cylinder; A medicine cartridge comprising: The RF tag stores drug information including at least information indicating the type of drug, and wirelessly transmits to the outside, in response to an external command, at least the information indicating the type of drug and first temperature information indicating the temperature detected by the first temperature sensor.

[0014] [Item 2] Item 2. The drug cartridge of item 1, wherein the RF tag is passive.

[0015] [Item 3] Item 2. The medicine cartridge according to item 1, wherein the RF tag further stores at least one of information indicating the expiration date of the medicine and information indicating the initial amount of the medicine.

[0016] [Item 4] A cassette that stores a drug cartridge and is loaded into a drug injection device, a cassette main body having a cassette columnar space capable of accommodating at least a portion of a medicine cartridge, an injection needle attachment portion located at a tip end of the cassette columnar space and capable of attaching and detaching an injection needle, and a main body opening located at a rear end of the cassette columnar space and allowing access to the cassette columnar space; a cassette cap supported near the rear end of the cassette body so as to be able to open and close the body opening; a hood including: a hood body supported on the cassette body so as to be rotatable between a first position that covers the injection needle mounting portion of the cassette body and a second position that exposes the injection needle mounting portion; a needle hider supported on the hood body so as to be movably moved between a protruding position that protrudes from the hood body and a retracted position that at least a portion of the needle hider is retracted in the hood body; and a biasing member that biases the needle hider toward the protruding position; A cassette with

[0017] [Item 5] Item 5. The cassette according to item 4, wherein a portion of the needle hiding portion is transparent.

[0018] [Item 6] Item 6. The cassette of item 5, wherein the needle hider includes a transparent first portion and a translucent second portion.

[0019] [Item 7] 7. The cassette according to any one of items 4 to 6, wherein the hood has an arm portion that extends on the opposite side of the hood body with respect to the pivot point and is connected to the hood body.

[0020] [Item 8] a device housing having a housing space for housing at least a portion of a cassette housing a medicine cartridge having a first temperature sensor and an RF tag, or at least a portion of a medicine cartridge having a first temperature sensor and an RF tag and not housed in a cassette, and a housing opening communicating with the housing space; a piston supported movably within the housing space; a motor that drives the piston; a motor driver that generates a drive signal for driving the motor; an antenna disposed adjacent to the housing space; a transmitting / receiving circuit for transmitting radio waves from the antenna and receiving radio waves received by the antenna; a display device that outputs information about the injection operation; a control device that controls the motor driver, the transmission / reception circuit, and the display device, When the drug cartridge is loaded into the housing space, the control device causes the transceiver circuit to receive, via the antenna, drug information including information indicating the type of drug in the drug cartridge transmitted from the RF tag of the drug cartridge and first temperature information detected by the first temperature sensor, determine the driving power of the motor based on the first temperature information, and control the motor driver to output the determined driving power.

[0021] [Item 9] a device housing having a housing space for housing at least a portion of a cassette housing a medicine cartridge having a first temperature sensor and an RF tag, or at least a portion of a medicine cartridge having a first temperature sensor and an RF tag and not housed in a cassette, and a housing opening communicating with the housing space; a piston supported movably within the housing space; a motor that drives the piston; a motor driver that generates a drive signal for driving the motor; an antenna disposed adjacent to the housing space; a transmitting / receiving circuit for transmitting radio waves from the antenna and receiving radio waves received by the antenna; a memory storing control information for controlling the motor for each of a plurality of drugs, the control information for each drug including a set of control parameters for the motor for each of a plurality of temperature ranges; a display device that outputs information about the injection operation; a control device that controls the motor driver, the transmission / reception circuit, the memory, and the display device; A drug injection device comprising:

[0022] [Item 10] the RF tag stores drug information including at least information indicating the type of drug; In a state where the medicine cartridge is loaded in the housing space, the control device causing the transmitting / receiving circuit to transmit a control signal via the antenna; receiving, via the antenna, the first temperature information and the medicine information output from the first temperature sensor and the RF tag of the medicine cartridge by the transmitting and receiving circuit; determining a control parameter set from the control information stored in the memory based on the first temperature information and the drug information; 10. The pharmaceutical injection device according to item 9, wherein the motor is controlled using the determined control parameter set.

[0023] [Item 11] Item 11. The pharmaceutical injection device according to item 10, wherein the motor driver generates a pulse-width modulated drive signal and outputs it to the motor.

[0024] [Item 12] A pharmaceutical injection device as described in item 11, wherein in the control information for each drug, the higher the lower limit temperature of the temperature range of the set of control parameters for the motor, the smaller the duty ratio of the pulse width modulated drive signal of the set of control parameters for the motor.

[0025] [Item 13] In the control information for each drug, a control parameter set for the motor for each temperature range includes an initial value and an increment width of a duty ratio of the drive signal by the pulse width modulation; Item 13. The pharmaceutical injection device according to item 11 or 12, wherein the control device causes the motor driver to generate the drive signal so that the current flowing through the motor increases stepwise.

[0026] [Item 14] 14. A pharmaceutical injection device according to any one of items 10 to 13, wherein the control device does not drive the motor when the first temperature information is within a first temperature range that is less than a first temperature or greater than or equal to a second temperature.

[0027] [Item 15] Item 15. The pharmaceutical injection device of item 14, wherein the control device controls the display device to display information indicating that injection should be waited for when the first temperature information is within a second temperature range that is equal to or greater than a first temperature and less than a third temperature that is lower than the second temperature.

[0028] [Item 16] Item 16. The pharmaceutical injection device of item 15, wherein the control device controls the display device to display information indicating that injection is possible when the first temperature information is within a third temperature range that is equal to or greater than the third temperature and less than the second temperature.

[0029] [Item 17] Item 16. The pharmaceutical injection device according to item 15, further comprising a second temperature sensor provided within the device housing that outputs second temperature information indicating the temperature within the device housing.

[0030] [Item 18] Item 18. The pharmaceutical injection device of item 17, wherein the control device sequentially acquires the first temperature information at predetermined time intervals when the second temperature information is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature, sequentially calculates a predicted time until injection becomes possible based on the first temperature information and the second temperature information, and controls a display device to display information indicating the calculated predicted time.

[0031] [Item 19] the antenna includes a first portion and a second portion each capable of independently receiving an external signal; 19. The pharmaceutical injection device according to any one of items 8 to 18, wherein the first portion and the second portion are disposed adjacent to and perpendicular to the housing space.

[0032] [Item 20] a user interface for receiving commands from an operator, the user interface including an injection button; A surface charge transfer touch sensor, Further comprising: the device housing has a skin contact surface that comes into contact with the skin of an operator during injection; 20. The pharmaceutical injection device according to any one of items 8 to 19, wherein the touch sensor is disposed on the skin contact surface.

[0033] [Item 21] The control device When a signal indicating that the injection button is pressed is received while a detection signal indicating that the skin has been touched is received from the touch sensor, the motor driver is controlled to perform an injection operation; During the injection operation, if the touch sensor detects the separation of the skin, Item 21. The pharmaceutical injection device according to item 20, wherein the display device is caused to display information indicating an abnormality.

[0034] [Item 22] a sensor having first, second and third axes orthogonal to one another, for detecting acceleration along the axes or angles around the axes, the sensor being disposed within the housing such that one of the first, second and third axes coincides with the direction of movement of the piston; 22. The pharmaceutical injection device according to any one of items 8 to 21, wherein the control device causes the display device to display information relating to the attitude of the pharmaceutical injection device based on the detection signal from the sensor.

[0035] [Item 23] a rotary encoder including an encoder plate attached to a rotary shaft of the motor and a pulse encoder; the encoder plate includes one reference blade portion and a plurality of normal blade portions arranged circumferentially, each having a notch and a blade; the circumferential lengths of the blades of the plurality of normal blade portions are equal to each other, and the circumferential lengths of the notches of the plurality of normal blade portions are equal to each other; a circumferential length of the blade of the reference blade portion and a circumferential length of the notch are different from a circumferential length of the blade of the plurality of normal blade portions and a circumferential length of the notch, respectively; The pulse encoder includes a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element arranged to receive light emitted from the light-emitting element, and generates a pulse signal including pulses corresponding to the blades of the reference blade portion and pulses corresponding to the blades of the multiple normal blade portions as the reference blade portion and the multiple normal blade portions of the encoder plate, which rotates in unison with the rotation of the motor, cross an optical path between the light-emitting element and the light-receiving element.

[0036] [Item 24] Item 24. The pharmaceutical injection device according to Item 23, wherein the circumferential length of the blade of the reference blade portion is greater than the circumferential length of the blade of the normal blade portion, and the circumferential length of the notch of the reference blade portion is less than the circumferential length of the notch of the normal blade portion.

[0037] [Item 25] 25. The pharmaceutical injection device according to item 23 or 24, wherein the control device controls the motor driver based on the pulse signal.

[0038] [Item 26] 26. The pharmaceutical injection device of any one of items 23 to 25, wherein the control device calculates the number of blades in the reference blade portion and the number of blades in the multiple normal blade portions per rotation of the encoder plate based on the pulse signal, and if the calculation result differs from a predetermined value, causes the display device to display information indicating a fault.

[0039] [Item 27] Item 23. The pharmaceutical injection device according to item 22, wherein the control device flips the orientation of the information displayed on the display device upside down based on the detection signal from the sensor.

[0040] [Item 28] The control device 28. The pharmaceutical injection device according to any one of items 8 to 27, wherein the pharmaceutical information is displayed on the display device.

[0041] [Item 29] The control device The pharmaceutical injection device according to any one of items 8 to 28, wherein a theme color corresponding to the type of pharmaceutical is displayed commonly on multiple operation screens.

[0042] [Item 30] the device housing comprises a protrusion extending in the longitudinal direction, a skin contact surface located on the upper surface of the protrusion, a device recess adjacent to the skin contact surface and having the housing opening located at its bottom, and a tip portion including an injection needle attachment portion covering the housing opening and having an internal space into which the tip of the medicine cartridge is inserted, the housing space is adapted to accommodate at least a portion of a drug cartridge that is not housed in a cassette; a hood that is located in the device recess and is rotatably attached to the device housing, the hood including a hood body, a needle hider that is supported movably with respect to the hood body, and a biasing member that biases the needle hider toward the protruding position, 10. The pharmaceutical injection device according to item 8 or 9, wherein the hood is rotatable between a first position in which it covers the injection needle attachment part and a second position in which it exposes the injection needle attachment part.

[0043] [Item 31] A cassette according to any one of items 4 to 7, A pharmaceutical injection device according to any one of items 8 to 29. A drug injection system comprising:

[0044] [Item 32] Further comprising the drug cartridge according to any one of items 1 to 3, Item 32. The drug injection system according to item 31, wherein the drug cartridge is housed in the cassette columnar space of the cassette.

[0045] [Item 33] A drug cartridge according to any one of items 1 to 3; a cassette including a cassette columnar space in which at least a portion of the drug cartridge is housed; A pharmaceutical injection device according to any one of items 8 to 29. A drug injection system comprising:

[0046] [Item 34] The pharmaceutical injection device A secondary battery; a charging terminal provided on the device housing; Equipped with the device housing has a tip portion including a protrusion extending in a longitudinal direction, a skin contact surface located on an upper surface of the protrusion, and a device recess adjacent to the skin contact surface, the housing opening being located on a bottom surface of the device recess, A drug injection system as described in item 31 or 32, wherein when the cassette is loaded into the housing space of the drug injection device, a portion of the hood of the cassette is exposed to the outside in a recess in the device housing, and another portion of the hood is located within the device housing, thereby making the hood unable to rotate.

[0047] [Item 35] further comprising a charger including a power supply circuit for charging the secondary battery of the pharmaceutical injection device and a charger housing that houses the power supply circuit; the charger housing includes: a charger recess having a space into which the tip portion of the pharmaceutical injection device can be inserted; a step provided at the bottom of the charger recess and having a shape corresponding to the housing recess of the pharmaceutical injection device; and a supply terminal located within the recess and connected to the power supply circuit; Item 35. The pharmaceutical injection system of item 34, wherein the charger housing is capable of storing the tip of the pharmaceutical injection device within the charger recess so that the charging terminal of the pharmaceutical injection device contacts the supply terminal when the cassette is not loaded into the pharmaceutical injection device, and when the cassette is loaded into the pharmaceutical injection device, the cassette interferes with the step in the charger housing, making it impossible to store the tip of the pharmaceutical injection device within the charger recess.

[0048] (First embodiment) (Outline of drug injection system) FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the exterior of a pharmaceutical injection system 400 comprising a cassette 100, a pharmaceutical injection device 200, and a charger 300. The cassette 100 houses a pharmaceutical cartridge 10. FIGS. 2(a) to 2(c) are perspective views illustrating the placement of the pharmaceutical cartridge 10 in the cassette 100, and FIGS. 3(a) to 3(c) are perspective views illustrating the placement of the cassette 100 in the pharmaceutical injection device 200. FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) are perspective views illustrating the state of injection. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of the electrical circuit of the pharmaceutical injection device 200. An overview of the pharmaceutical injection system will be described with reference to these figures. The pharmaceutical injection system of the present disclosure is typically used by patients to administer injections themselves. However, if the patient is young and it is not appropriate for the patient to operate the pharmaceutical injection system themselves, the pharmaceutical injection system may be operated by someone other than the patient, such as a guardian.

[0049] The drug cartridge 10 contains, for example, a plurality of doses of drug to be injected into an operator such as a patient. As shown in FIG. 2(a), the cassette 100 includes a cassette body 110, a cassette cap 130, and a hood 140.

[0050] The cassette body 110 has a cassette columnar space 110c capable of accommodating at least a portion of the drug cartridge 10, an injection needle attachment section 110h located at the tip 110a of the cassette columnar space 110c and allowing an injection needle to be attached and detached, and a body opening 110e located at the rear end 110b of the columnar space and allowing access to the columnar space. The cassette cap 130 is supported near the rear end 110b of the cassette body 110 so as to be able to open and close the body opening 110e. The hood 140 includes a hood body 141 and a needle concealer 142. The needle concealer 142 is supported by the hood body 141 so as to be movable between a protruding position where it protrudes from the hood body 141 and a retracted position where at least a portion of the needle concealer is retracted into the hood body 141.

[0051] 2(b), loading of the drug cartridge 10 into the cassette 100 is completed by opening the cassette cap 130, inserting the drug cartridge 10 into the cassette columnar space 110c, and closing the cassette cap 130. If there is still drug remaining in the drug cartridge 10 after starting to use a new drug cartridge 10, the cassette 100 with the drug cartridge 10 loaded therein can be stored in a case (not shown), for example, and stored in a cool place such as a refrigerator.

[0052] As will be described in detail below, in this embodiment, the drug cartridge 10 is equipped with a first temperature sensor and an RF tag. First temperature information detected by the first temperature sensor 15 is transmitted to the drug injection device 200 by the RF tag.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 12 , the injection needle 21 is detachably attached to the injection needle mounting portion 110h of the cassette 100. The injection needle 21 is disposable and is handled separately from the cassette 100 when not in use, for example as a needle unit 20. The needle unit 20 includes the injection needle 21, a needle cap 24, and a needle case 25. The injection needle 21 has a needle 22 and a connecting portion 23 that supports the needle 22 and is detachably attached to the injection needle mounting portion 110h of the cassette 100. For example, a male thread may be provided at the tip of the injection needle mounting portion 110h, and a female thread may be provided at the connecting portion 23 of the injection needle 21. The needle cap 24 has a cylindrical shape that covers the needle 22, and the needle case 25 stores the injection needle 21 with the needle 22 covered by the needle cap 24.

[0054] 1, drug cartridge 10, cassette 100, and drug injection device 200 each have a longitudinal direction L. In the present application, of the two longitudinal ends of drug cartridge 10, cassette 100, and drug injection device 200, the end to which injection needle 21 is attached is referred to as the tip, tip portion, or tip section. Additionally, the end opposite the tip in the longitudinal direction of drug cartridge 10, cassette 100, and drug injection device 200 is referred to as the rear end, rear end, or rear section.

[0055] Pharmaceutical injection device 200 includes device housing 201. Device housing 201 has a cylindrical shape that is thick enough for an operator to easily hold in one hand, for example. In this embodiment, device housing 201 has an oval shape in cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, making it easy for an operator to hold. However, the shape of device housing 201 is not limited to this, and it may also be cylindrical or rectangular.

[0056] The distal end 201a, which is one of the longitudinal ends of the device housing 201, has a protrusion 201t extending in the longitudinal direction and a device recess 201r. The device recess 201r is adjacent to the protrusion 201t, and the protrusion 201t and the device recess 201r are formed by providing cutouts in the cylindrical shape of the device housing 201, cutting away part of the end face and part of the side face. The upper surface of the protrusion 201t is called the skin contact surface 201e. A housing opening 201d into which the cassette 100 can be inserted is located on the bottom surface of the device recess 201r. The pharmaceutical injection device 200 has a housing space 201c within the device housing 201 that can accommodate at least part of the cassette 100, and the housing space 201c is connected to the housing opening 201d.

[0057] Pharmaceutical injection device 200 is equipped with a power button 255, a selection button 256, a decision button 257, an injection button 258, an ejection lever 209, and a display device 259 on the surface of device housing 201. The surface on which these buttons and display device 259 are located is referred to as the front. Power button 255, selection button 256, decision button 257, and injection button 258 are examples of a user interface that accepts commands from the operator. Part or all of the user interface may be a touch panel provided on display device 259. A charging terminal 201g is located at tip 201a of device housing 201, which will be described later.

[0058] When using the drug injection system 400, when the power button 255 is pressed to start up the drug injection device 200, the display device 259 displays the operating procedures for the drug injection device 200, drug information for the drug cartridge 10 in the loaded cassette 100, the injection history, etc.

[0059] 3(a) to 3(c), cassette 100 with needle unit 20 attached is loaded into pharmaceutical injection device 200 through housing opening 201d, and needle case 25 and needle cap 24 are removed. In this state, needle 22 is positioned within the space surrounded by needle concealer 142, and the tip of needle 22 does not protrude from needle concealer 142.

[0060] After pressing the select button 256 and the enter button 257 as appropriate to determine the operation of the pharmaceutical injection device 200, the pharmaceutical injection operation is performed. The pharmaceutical injection device 200 of this embodiment is semi-automatic, and needle insertion and removal are performed manually, that is, by the operator. As shown in FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b), when the pharmaceutical injection device 200 is held so that the tip of the needle concealer 142 is in contact with the skin, and the pharmaceutical injection device 200 is pressed against the skin, the needle concealer 142 retracts into the hood main body 141. As a result, the tip of the needle 22 comes into contact with the skin, and the injection needle 22 is inserted into the skin to a predetermined depth. Next, when the injection button 258 is pressed, a predetermined amount of pharmaceutical is injected from the pharmaceutical cartridge 10.

[0061] After the drug injection is complete, the operator removes the drug injection device 200 from the skin, and the injection needle 21 is withdrawn from the skin. The ejection lever 209 is then operated to eject the cassette 100 from the drug injection device 200.

[0062] As shown in Figure 5, pharmaceutical injection device 200 comprises control unit 251 including a computing unit such as a CPU, secondary battery 253 as a power source, charging unit 252 including a charging circuit for charging secondary battery 253, memory 254 for storing computer programs, data, etc., and clock 261. Control unit 251 and memory 254 make up control device 280, and control unit 251 reads the program stored in memory 254 and controls each of the components shown in Figure 5 in accordance with the procedures of the computer program. The procedures of the computer program are explained below and shown in the flowcharts in the accompanying drawings. Pharmaceutical injection device 200 may further comprise buzzer 260 that alerts the operator by sound.

[0063] Pharmaceutical injection device 200 further includes a motor driver 263, a motor 264, and a rotary encoder 265. Motor driver 263, motor 264, and rotary encoder 265 form part of the piston drive mechanism, as described below.

[0064] The pharmaceutical injection device 200 also includes various detectors for detecting the state of each part of the pharmaceutical injection device 200. Specifically, the pharmaceutical injection device 200 includes a piston origin detector 271, a cassette loaded detector 272, an ejection lever detector 274, a touch sensor 275, and an acceleration sensor 276. The pharmaceutical injection device 200 may further include a second temperature sensor 273.

[0065] The pharmaceutical injection device 200 is equipped with an RF-ID reader 277. The pharmaceutical injection device 200 may further be equipped with an RF-ID writer. The RF-ID reader 277 reads the first temperature information from the first temperature sensor 15 transmitted from the RF tag 16 of the pharmaceutical cartridge 10, and the pharmaceutical information including information indicating the type of pharmaceutical stored in the memory of the RF tag 16. The read information is input to the control unit 251, and the acquired first temperature information is used to control the motor and the operation of the pharmaceutical injection device 200.

[0066] Pharmaceutical injection device 200 may further include a communication unit 262. Communication unit 262 transmits and receives information to and from the outside via, for example, infrared communication, wireless communication, etc. Specifically, communication unit 262 may be a transceiver that uses a short-range wireless communication standard such as BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy; Bluetooth is a registered trademark). For example, the operator may store the time when pharmaceutical injection device 200 was used, the type of pharmaceutical, the amount injected, etc. in memory 254 during use, and then, at a predetermined timing, this information may be transmitted using communication unit 262 to an external device such as a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet terminal, or a dedicated device for managing pharmaceutical injection device 200. Furthermore, the above-mentioned information may be transmitted from the mobile device via a mobile phone line or internet line to a server at a hospital, pharmaceutical manufacturer, or the like.

[0067] Charger 300 includes a charging housing 301 and a power supply circuit disposed in charging housing 301. Charging housing 301 has a charger recess 301r that has a space into which tip portion 201a of pharmaceutical injection device 200 can be inserted.

[0068] Charging housing 301 includes a step 301s provided at the bottom of charger recess 301r and having a shape corresponding to device recess 201r provided at tip end 201a of pharmaceutical injection device 200, a space 301u within charger recess 301r adjacent to step 301s, and a supply terminal 301e located within charger recess 301r and connected to the charging circuit. A plurality of ribs 301d extending in the depth direction of charger recess 301r are provided on the side surface of charger recess 301r.

[0069] FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating how to set the pharmaceutical injection device 200 in the charger 300, and FIG. 6B is a front view showing the pharmaceutical injection device 200 set in the charger 300. When charging the pharmaceutical injection device 200 using the charger 300, the cassette 100 is removed from the pharmaceutical injection device 200, and the tip end 201a of the pharmaceutical injection device 200 is inserted into the charger recess 301r of the charger 300. At this time, the device recess 201r of the pharmaceutical injection device 200 corresponds to the step 301s, so that the protrusion 201t is inserted into the space 301u next to the step 301s without interference, as shown in FIG. 6B, and the entire tip end 201a can be inserted into the charger recess 301r. This allows the tip end 201a of the pharmaceutical injection device 200 to be stored within the charger recess 301r so that the charging terminal 201g of the pharmaceutical injection device 200 comes into contact with the supply terminal 301e. At this time, the side of tip portion 201a of pharmaceutical injection device 200 comes into contact with rib 301d of charger 300. This creates a space between the side of charger recess 301r and the side of tip portion 201a of pharmaceutical injection device 200. This space allows heat generated by the secondary battery during charging to be released to the outside of charger recess 301r.

[0070] 6B, the charger 300 can hold the pharmaceutical injection device 200 in an upright position. This allows the charger 300 to function as a storage location for the pharmaceutical injection device 200 when not in use, and allows the pharmaceutical injection device 200 to be stored in a more visible and less space-consuming manner than storing the pharmaceutical injection device 200 on its side or storing the pharmaceutical injection device 200 in a case for charging.

[0071] On the other hand, when the cassette 100 is loaded into the pharmaceutical injection device 200, a portion of the cassette 100 protrudes into the device recess 201r. Therefore, even if an attempt is made to insert the tip end 201a of the pharmaceutical injection device 200 into the charger recess 301r of the charger 300, the cassette 100 interferes with the step 301s of the charger recess 301r, preventing the protrusion 201t from being inserted into the space 301u next to the step 301s, and preventing the entire tip end 201a from being inserted into the charger recess 301r. Therefore, the tip end 201a of the pharmaceutical injection device 200 cannot be stored within the charger recess 301r, and the pharmaceutical injection device 200 cannot be set in the charger 300.

[0072] Thus, with the pharmaceutical injection system 400 of this embodiment, the pharmaceutical injection device 200 cannot be loaded into the charger 300 with the cassette 100 inserted. For this reason, the cassette 100 must be removed during charging, preventing the pharmaceutical inside the cassette 100 from deteriorating due to heat generated by the pharmaceutical injection device 200 during charging.

[0073] In the pharmaceutical injection system of this embodiment, pharmaceutical cartridge 10 is equipped with first temperature sensor 15, making it possible to measure the temperature of the pharmaceutical contained in pharmaceutical cartridge 10. This information can be used to estimate the viscosity of the pharmaceutical, drive the motor with a driving force corresponding to the viscosity, determine whether the temperature is appropriate for injection, and control the operation of pharmaceutical injection device 200. The pharmaceutical cartridge 10, cassette 100, and pharmaceutical injection device 200 are described in detail below.

[0074] (Medicine cartridge 10) An example of drug cartridge 10 of this embodiment will be described. Fig. 7A is a cross section parallel to the longitudinal direction of drug cartridge 10, and Fig. 7B is a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of drug cartridge 10. Drug cartridge 10 includes a cylinder 11, a cylinder cap 12, a gasket 13, drug 14, and an RF tag 16.

[0075] The cylinder 11 has a first end 11a and a second end 11b spaced apart in the longitudinal direction, and a cylinder columnar space 11c located between the first end 11a and the second end 11b. The needle 22 of the injection needle 21 can be inserted into and removed from the first end 11a. For example, the outer shape of the cylinder 11 tapers toward the first end 11a so that the cross section of the cylinder columnar space 11c perpendicular to the longitudinal direction at the first end 11a is smaller, and an opening of the cylinder columnar space 11c on the first end 11a side is sealed with a rubber cylinder cap 12. The cylinder 11 has a cylinder opening 11d at the second end 11b that is connected to the cylinder columnar space 11c.

[0076] The gasket 13 is inserted into the cylinder columnar space 11c from the cylinder opening 11d and is supported on the inner wall of the cylinder 11 so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction.

[0077] The first end 11a and the second end 11b of the cylindrical columnar space 11c are closed by a cylinder cap 12 and a gasket 13, and the closed cylindrical columnar space 11c contains a drug 14. The drug 14 contains at least a liquid first component and is liquid at room temperature.

[0078] 8A and 8B are schematic plan views of the RF tag 16. The RF tag 16 is a device that stores identification information of an object to which the tag is affixed and transmits the identification information wirelessly. In this embodiment, the RF tag 16 stores drug information including information indicating at least the type of drug in the cylindrical columnar space 11c, and wirelessly transmits the information indicating the type of drug and first temperature information indicating the temperature detected by the first temperature sensor to the outside in response to an external command.

[0079] The RF tag 16 may be of either an active type or a passive type. In this embodiment, the RF tag 16 is a passive type RF tag with a temperature sensor. For example, the RF tag 16 includes an antenna 16a and an IC 16b. The antenna 16a transmits and receives electromagnetic waves in the long wave, short wave, or microwave bands. The IC 16b includes a transmitter, a receiver, a memory, and a power supply rectifier. In this embodiment, the IC 16b further includes a first temperature sensor.

[0080] As shown in FIG. 8B, the RF tag 16' may include an antenna 16a and an IC 16c that does not include a temperature sensor. In this case, the medicine cartridge 10 further includes a first temperature sensor 15 electrically connected to the IC 16c. The RF tag 16 or the RF tag 16' and the first temperature sensor 15 are supported by, for example, being attached to a label 17 or laminated. The label 17 is attached to the outer surface of the cylinder 11. The name of the medicine 14 may be written on the outside of the attached label 17. Furthermore, the medicine information described below may be written in letters, pictograms, etc.

[0081] The first temperature sensor detects the temperature around the second temperature sensor. In this embodiment, IC 16b including the first temperature sensor is attached to the cylinder 11 together with a label, so that the temperature of the cylinder 11 is directly detected. The temperature of the cylinder 11 is the same as the temperature of the medicine in the cylinder columnar space 11c. Therefore, it can be said that the first temperature sensor detects the temperature of the medicine in the medicine cartridge 10.

[0082] The storage unit stores drug information about the drug in the cylindrical columnar space 11c. The drug information includes at least information indicating the type of drug. The drug information may further include information indicating the expiration date of the drug, information indicating the initial amount of the drug in an unused state, information regarding the manufacture of the drug such as a manufactured lot, unique identification information for the drug cartridge 10, information regarding the viscosity of the drug, etc.

[0083] In RF tag 16, when antenna 16a receives a signal transmitted from pharmaceutical injection device 200 (described below), an electromotive force is generated due to resonance, and the power supply rectifier in IC 16b rectifies the electromotive force, generating power to drive RF tag 16. This activates IC 16b, which reads out the pharmaceutical information stored in the memory unit and first temperature information indicating the temperature detected by the first temperature sensor, and the transmitter converts the read information into electromagnetic waves and transmits them externally from antenna 16a. The transmitted information is received by the pharmaceutical injection device (described below) and is used to control the pharmaceutical injection device.

[0084] By providing the drug cartridge 10 with a first temperature sensor, it is able to detect the drug temperature in response to a request from the drug injection device 200. This makes it possible to realize a drug injection device that, when using a drug cartridge stored at a low temperature for injection, can use the drug temperature to determine whether the temperature is appropriate for injection, estimate the viscosity of the drug according to its temperature, and inject the drug with an appropriate driving force.

[0085] Although the drug cartridge 10 contains only a liquid component, the drug cartridge of the present disclosure may contain both a solid component and a liquid component. Fig. 9A shows a schematic cross-section of a drug cartridge 10' containing a drug in which the liquid component and the solid component are kept separate in an unused state, and Fig. 9B shows a cross-section taken along line 9B-9B of Fig. 9A.

[0086] The drug cartridge 10' includes a cylinder 11', a first gasket 13A, a second gasket 13B, a liquid component 14A containing a first component of the drug 14, and a solid component 14B containing a second component. The liquid component 14A is liquid at room temperature, and the solid component 14B is solid at room temperature. The solid component 14B is supported, for example, in contact with the inner surface of the cylinder 11'. The label 17 and the RF tag 16 are disposed on the side surface of the cylinder 11'.

[0087] The cylinder 11' has a cylinder columnar space 11c, which includes a first region 11c1 located on the first end 11a side, a second region 11c2 located on the second end 11b side, and a third region 11c3 sandwiched between the first region 11c1 and the second region 11c2.

[0088] The side surface of the cylinder 11' includes a protrusion 11t in the third region 11c3 that protrudes outward relative to the axis 11j. The protrusion 11t extends in the longitudinal direction and defines a bypass space 11e adjacent to the cylinder columnar space 11c in a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The longitudinal length Lb of the bypass space 11e is longer than the longitudinal length Lg of the second gasket 13B that is in contact with the inner surface of the cylinder 11' (Lb > Lg).

[0089] In an initial state before the drug cartridge 10' is unused, at least a portion of the second gasket 13B is located in the second region 11c2. The first gasket 13A is located in the cylindrical columnar space 11c, on the second end 11b side of the second region 11c2. The liquid component 14A of the drug is located in the second region 11c2 and is sandwiched between the first gasket 13A and the second gasket 13B. Meanwhile, the solid component 14B is located in the first region 11c1 of the cylindrical columnar space 11c.

[0090] In drug cartridge 10', solid component 14B is dissolved in liquid component 14A before use. Figures 10(a) and 10(b) are schematic diagrams illustrating the movement of liquid component 14A as solid component 14B dissolves. When cassette 100 with drug cartridge 10' inserted is loaded into pharmaceutical injection device 200, piston 210 of pharmaceutical injection device 200 advances first gasket 13A. Because the space between first gasket 13A and second gasket 13B is sealed while the rear end of second gasket 13B is in second region 11c2, as first gasket 13A advances, second gasket 13B and liquid component 14A advance together.

[0091] As shown in FIG. 10(a), when the rear end of the second gasket 13B reaches the third region 11c3, the longitudinal length Lg of the second gasket 13B is shorter than the longitudinal length Lb of the bypass space 11e. Therefore, the first region 11c1, which is located in front of the second gasket 13B, and the second region 11c2, which is located behind the second gasket 13B, are connected by the bypass space 11e. As a result, the liquid component 14A flows through the bypass space 11e and into the first region 11c1. During this time, even though the first gasket 13A advances, the second gasket 13B does not move, and only the liquid component 14A moves into the first region 11c1. As a result, the liquid component 14A comes into contact with the solid component 14B, and the solid component 14B dissolves in the liquid component 14A.

[0092] 10(b), when all of the liquid component 14A has moved to the first region 11c1, the first gasket 13A comes into contact with the second gasket 13B. Therefore, from this point on, the first gasket 13A and the second gasket 13B move forward together while remaining in contact with each other.

[0093] As will be described later, solid component 14B in contact with liquid component 14A dissolves in liquid component 14A when the entire drug cartridge 10' is shaken by an operator's operation.

[0094] In this way, even if the drug held in the drug cartridge contains both solid and liquid components, drug information can be stored in the memory unit of RF tag 16. Therefore, by transmitting the stored drug information and first temperature information of the drug to drug injection device 200, it is possible to control drug injection device 200 using a different procedure than for a drug cartridge containing only liquid components, or to cause the drug to dissolve in accordance with the temperature of the drug.

[0095] (Cassette 100) As explained with reference to Figure 2, cassette 100 includes cassette body 110, cassette cap 130, and hood 140. By providing hood 140, cassette 100 of this embodiment allows the operator to more safely handle cassette 100 or the pharmaceutical injection device 200 to which cassette 100 is attached, with injection needle 21 attached.

[0096] 11 is an exploded perspective view of the hood 140 of the cassette 100. The hood 140 includes a hood body 141, a needle hidden 142, and a biasing member 143. The needle hidden 142 has a generally U-shape in a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. Similarly, the hood body 141 also has a portion that has a generally U-shape in a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The needle hidden 142 is supported so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction relative to the hood body 141. The biasing member 143 biases the needle hidden 142 in a direction that causes it to protrude from the hood body 141. In this embodiment, the biasing member 143 is a spring, but it may be another elastic member.

[0097] At least a portion of the needle hidden portion 142 is transparent. In this embodiment, the needle hidden portion 142 includes a transparent first portion 142c and a semi-transparent second portion 142d. More specifically, the first portion 142c is a region extending in the longitudinal direction and is located, for example, at the bottom of a substantially U-shaped cross section in a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The second portions 142d are located so as to sandwich the first portion 142c.

[0098] The hood body 141 is rotatably supported by the cassette body 110 at its rear end 141b in the longitudinal direction. This allows the hood 140 to rotate between a first position that covers the injection needle attachment portion and a second position that exposes the injection needle attachment portion. The hood body 141 also has an arm 141c that is connected to the rear end 141b and extends to the opposite side of the hood body 141 in the longitudinal direction. The hood body 141 is made of, for example, an opaque material. The transparent and opaque materials may be colorless or colored.

[0099] 12(a) and 12(b) are diagrams illustrating the attachment of the needle unit 20 to the cassette 100. The drug cartridge 10 is inserted into the cassette 100 in advance. As shown in FIG. 12(a), first, the hood 140 is rotated to the second position. In this state, the hood 140 does not cover the injection needle mounting portion 110h of the cassette 100, leaving the injection needle mounting portion 110h exposed. In particular, the hood 140 is positioned lower (toward the rear end) than the injection needle mounting portion 110h. Therefore, for example, when an operator attaches the needle unit 20 to the injection needle mounting portion 110h, the operator's hand does not come into contact with the hood 140, making attachment easy. As shown in FIG. 12(b), once attachment of the needle unit 20 is complete, the hood 140 is rotated to the first position. As a result, the hood 140 covers the needle unit 20 from three directions, except for the tip portion 201a.

[0100] As shown in FIG. 3(a), in this state, cassette 100 is inserted into housing space 201c of pharmaceutical injection device 200 through housing opening 201d. FIG. 3(b) shows the state when loading of cassette 100 is complete. In this state, a portion of hood 140 is exposed at device recess 201r of tip portion 201a, and a portion is located within housing opening 201d. Specifically, at least arm 141c of hood main body 141 is located within housing opening 201d. Therefore, in this state, even if an operator attempts to rotate hood 140 to the second position, that is, to open hood 140 so that needle unit 20 is exposed, arm 141c abuts against the internal housing of pharmaceutical injection device 200 within housing space 201c, and hood 140 cannot be rotated. When cassette 100 is loaded into pharmaceutical injection device 200, part of hood body 141 surrounds device recess 201r in tip end portion 201a. This allows pharmaceutical injection device 200 to be held stably against the skin during administration.

[0101] 3(c), when the operator pulls the needle case 25 of the needle unit 20 in this state, the needle cap 24 and the needle case 25 are removed from the needle unit 20, exposing the injection needle 21. The tip of the exposed injection needle 21 is located lower than the tip of the needle hiding section 142.

[0102] The semi-transparent second portion 142d of the needle concealer 142 faces in the same direction as the front of the pharmaceutical injection device 200, where the display device 259 and other components are located. Therefore, when the operator performs an injection, the operator can see the injection needle 21 through the second portion 142d of the needle concealer 142. Because the second portion 142d is semi-transparent, the operator can see the shape of the injection needle 21 indistinctly, but can recognize that the needle 22 is attached. Therefore, the operator can confirm that the injection needle 21 is attached correctly, and by not being able to clearly see the needle 22, it is possible to prevent the operator from feeling any fear.

[0103] Furthermore, first portion 142c of needle hiding portion 142 is transparent, and faces the same direction as the side of pharmaceutical injection device 200. This allows the operator to clearly see injection needle 21 through first portion 142c. As will be described later, for example, when performing an air purging operation in pharmaceutical cartridge 10, the operator can see through first portion 142c that pharmaceutical is seeping out from the tip of injection needle 21, making it possible to determine that air purging has been completed.

[0104] Furthermore, when the tip of needle hiding portion 142 is brought into contact with the skin and pharmaceutical injection device 200 is pressed down during injection, needle hiding portion 142 retracts and is housed in hood body 141, causing injection needle 21 to relatively protrude from the tip of needle hiding portion 142. This allows injection needle 21 to be inserted into the skin until skin contact surface 201e of convex portion 201t of pharmaceutical injection device 200 comes into contact with the skin.

[0105] When the injection is completed and the drug injection device 200 is removed from the skin, the needle concealer 142 is caused to protrude towards the tip by the biasing member 143, and covers the injection needle 21 again.

[0106] The cassette 100 for storing the drug cartridge 10 has been described above, but the cassette of this embodiment can also be configured in the same way when storing the drug cartridge 10' described above.

[0107] (Drug injection device 200) FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view of pharmaceutical injection device 200 with device housing 201 removed, and FIG. 14 is a perspective view of pharmaceutical injection device 200 showing the placement of the RF-ID antenna. FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of piston drive mechanism 220 of pharmaceutical injection device 200. In addition to device housing 201 and control device 280 described above, pharmaceutical injection device 200 also comprises piston 210 and piston drive mechanism 220. In this embodiment, pharmaceutical injection device 200 further comprises internal housing 202, main board 290, first sub-board 291, and second sub-board 292. Internal housing 202 supports piston drive mechanism 220. Control device 280 and motor driver 263 are formed on main board 290. An acceleration sensor 276 is also located on main board 290.

[0108] RF-ID reader 277 includes antenna 278 and a transmitting / receiving circuit 279. Transmitting / receiving circuit 279 is formed on, for example, main board 290. Second sub-board 292 is provided with selection button 256, decision button 257, injection button 258, and second temperature sensor 273. Second temperature sensor 273 is preferably disposed in a position where it is less susceptible to the heat generated by various components inside device housing 201 during operation.

[0109] When cassette 100 with drug cartridge 10 inserted is loaded into pharmaceutical injection device 200, RF-ID reader 277 reads the first temperature information transmitted from drug cartridge 10 and drug information including information indicating the type of drug stored in the memory of RF tag 16. Based on this information, pharmaceutical injection device 200 moves piston 210, thereby injecting the drug in drug cartridge 10 into the operator. The following mainly describes the structure of RF-ID reader 277 and piston drive mechanism 220 of pharmaceutical injection device 200.

[0110] <RF-IDリーダ277> As described above, RF-ID reader 277 includes antenna 278 and transceiver circuit 279. As shown in Fig. 14, antenna 278 includes first portion 278A and second portion 278B, each of which can independently receive signals from the outside. First portion 278A and second portion 278B of antenna 278 are disposed adjacent to housing space 201c. First portion 278A and second portion 278B each include a substantially planar radiation conductor, and are preferably disposed orthogonal to each other.

[0111] 16A and 16B schematically show the positional relationship between the RF tag 16 and the first and second portions 278A and 278B of the antenna 278 when the cassette 100, into which the drug cartridge 10 has been inserted, is loaded into the pharmaceutical injection device 200. The cassette 100 is not shown in FIGS. 16A and 16B. In this embodiment, the drug cartridge 10 has a cylindrical shape, and the outer shape of a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is generally circular. Therefore, the cassette 100 can be inserted into the cassette columnar space 110c of the cassette 100 in any orientation (angle) around the axis. Therefore, when the cassette 100 is loaded into the pharmaceutical injection device 200, the flat RF tag 16 can be oriented in any direction.

[0112] On the other hand, the antenna 16a of the RF tag 16 has a generally planar shape and is directional. Specifically, the antenna 16a transmits electromagnetic waves with a large field strength distribution in a direction perpendicular to the planar shape. Therefore, if the antenna 278 of the RF-ID reader 277 has high reception sensitivity in only one direction, the direction in which the reception sensitivity of the antenna 278 is high and the direction in which the field strength of the electromagnetic waves transmitted from the antenna 16a of the RF tag 16 is strong will be orthogonal or nearly orthogonal, and there is a possibility that the electromagnetic waves transmitted from the RF tag 16 will not be received correctly.

[0113] In this embodiment, the first portion 278A and the second portion 278B of the antenna 278 are arranged orthogonal to each other, so that the antenna 278 has high sensitivity in two orthogonal directions. Therefore, for example, as shown in Fig. 16A, when the antenna 16a of the RF tag 16 extends substantially perpendicular to the y direction, the first portion 278A of the antenna 278 cannot receive electromagnetic waves from the antenna 16a of the RF tag 16 with high sensitivity, but the second portion 278B can receive electromagnetic waves from the antenna 16a of the RF tag 16 with sufficient sensitivity. Also, as shown in Fig. 16B, when the antenna 16a of the RF tag 16 extends substantially perpendicular to the x direction, the second portion 278B of the antenna 278 cannot receive electromagnetic waves from the antenna 16a of the RF tag 16 with high sensitivity, but the first portion 278A can receive electromagnetic waves from the antenna 16a of the RF tag 16 with sufficient sensitivity. 16A and 16B, the first portion 278A or second portion 278B of the antenna 278 can receive electromagnetic waves from the antenna 16a of the RF tag 16 with sufficiently high sensitivity. Therefore, with the pharmaceutical injection device 200 of this embodiment, it is possible to more reliably read the first temperature information and pharmaceutical information, including information indicating the type of pharmaceutical stored in the memory of the RF tag 16, from the pharmaceutical cartridge 10 in the cassette 100.

[0114] Information from the RF tag 16 attached to the medicine cartridge 10 is read by the RF-ID reader 277, for example, by the following procedure. First, to cause the RF tag 16 to generate power for transmitting information, an activation signal is generated from the transmitter / receiver circuit 279 of the RF-ID reader 277, and electromagnetic waves are transmitted from the first portion 278A and / or the second portion 278B of the antenna 278. When the antenna 16a of the RF tag 16 receives the electromagnetic waves, an electromotive force is generated by resonance. The generated electromotive force activates the IC 16b, which reads out information stored in the memory unit and converts it into a signal. The temperature detected by the first temperature sensor is also converted into a signal. The generated signal is sent from the IC 16b to the antenna 16a, and the antenna 16a transmits the electromagnetic waves. The RF-ID reader 277 receives electromagnetic waves from the RF tag 16 by the first portion 278A or the second portion 278B of the antenna 278, and the electromagnetic waves are converted into signals by the transmitting / receiving circuit 279. This provides the first temperature information and drug information including information indicating the type of drug stored in the memory of the RF tag 16. This information is transmitted to the control device 280.

[0115] <Piston drive mechanism 220> 14 and 15. The piston 210 includes a tip portion 211 and a body 212 connected to the tip portion 211. The tip portion 211 is located on the first end 210a side. In this embodiment, the tip portion 211 has an I-cut shape obtained by cutting a cylinder along two parallel planes along its axis. The tip portion 211 has a shape corresponding to the cap opening 130d provided in the cassette cap 130 of the cassette 100.

[0116] The piston 210 includes a driving protrusion 213 located on the side surface of the main body 212. The driving protrusion 213 engages with a guide 231 provided in the piston driving mechanism 220, as described below, to restrict rotation in accordance with the shape of the guide 231. In this embodiment, the driving protrusion 213 is a rib provided on the side surface of the piston 210, and the rib is a ridge-shaped protrusion extending parallel to the axis of the piston 210. In this embodiment, the piston 210 has two driving protrusions 213 arranged on the second end 210b side of the main body. The main body 212 of the piston 210 is provided with a female screw 214 located inside a hole 210h extending along the axis of the piston 210.

[0117] The piston drive mechanism 220 includes a motor 264, a gear box 221, a drive gear 222, a drive rod 235, and a piston guide 230. The motor 264, the gear box 221, the drive gear 222, and the piston guide 230 are supported by the internal housing 202.

[0118] Motor 264 rotates forward or reverse under the control of control device 280. Here, forward rotation refers to rotation in a direction that moves piston 210 forward, and reverse rotation refers to rotation in a direction that moves piston 210 backward.

[0119] A rotary encoder 265 is attached to the rotating shaft of the motor 264 as a rotation amount detector, and the rotary encoder 265 detects the rotation amount (number of rotations) of the motor 264. The rotary encoder 265 includes an encoder plate 266 and a pulse encoder 267 including a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element. The rotary encoder 265 will be described in detail below.

[0120] The gearbox 221 includes at least one gear attached to the rotation shaft of the motor 264. The gearbox 221 may include two or more gears to reduce the rotation speed of the motor 264.

[0121] The drive gear 222 meshes with the gear of the gear box 221, and is rotatably supported by the internal housing 202 via a bearing 223. A hole is provided in the shaft of the drive gear 222, and one end of the drive rod 235 is inserted and fitted into the hole.

[0122] The drive rod 235 has a rod shape, and has a male screw 236 formed on the side surface. The male screw 236 is configured with a thread height, shape, thread pitch, etc. so as to mesh with the female screw 214 provided on the piston 210.

[0123] The piston guide 230 has a hole 230h into which the piston 210 is inserted. A guide 231 is provided on the inner surface of the hole 230h. The guide 231 engages with the driving protrusion 213 of the piston 210 and guides the piston 210 to move forward or backward without rotating it about its axis.

[0124] In this embodiment, the guide 231 is a linear groove extending parallel to the axis of the hole 230h, and a rib, which is the driving protrusion 213 provided on the side surface of the piston 210, is inserted into the guide 231. The piston guide 230 includes two guides 231 corresponding to the two driving protrusions 213 of the piston 210.

[0125] When motor 264 rotates forward in response to a command from control device 280, drive gear 222 rotates via gearbox 221, causing drive rod 235 to rotate. When drive rod 235 rotates, female thread 214 of piston 210, which meshes with male thread 236 of drive rod 235, receives a rotational force about the axis. Because drive protrusion 213 of piston 210 is inserted into the groove of guide 231, guide 231 restricts rotation of piston 210 about the axis, and piston 210 advances in accordance with the rotation of drive rod 235 without rotating.

[0126] When motor 264 rotates in the reverse direction in response to a command from control device 280, drive gear 222 rotates via gearbox 221, causing drive rod 235 to rotate in the opposite direction. Male thread 236 of drive rod 235 engages with female thread 214 of piston 210, restricting rotation around the axis, and piston 210 moves backward without rotating around the axis.

[0127] <Control of the piston driving mechanism 220> As mentioned above, the viscosity of liquid drug 14 varies with temperature. Generally, the higher the drug temperature, the lower the viscosity. Viscosity also varies depending on the type of drug. Furthermore, even if the same drug is stored in the drug cartridge, different diameters of cylinder 11 due to different capacities of cylinder 11 may result in different loads required to move gasket 13. Conventional drug injection devices provide the motor with a drive voltage high enough to accommodate the most viscous drug and the most demanding drug cartridge among the compatible drugs and drug cartridges, ensuring smooth injection operations regardless of the type of drug or the capacity of drug cartridge 10. However, this requires the use of a secondary battery with a high maximum output. This increases the volume of the secondary battery, making the drug injection device larger and heavier. Furthermore, constantly driving the motor with more power than necessary results in high power consumption.

[0128] Furthermore, to address the issue of pain that can occur when injecting cold medication, conventional drug injection devices have involved the operator leaving the drug cartridge indoors for a certain period of time before injecting. However, time management, such as leaving the drug cartridge for a certain period of time, is troublesome for the operator, and because the temperature in the room when an injection is performed can vary depending on the season, location, etc., the drug cartridge may not reach the same temperature even if left for the same period of time.

[0129] In this embodiment, RF-ID reader 277 receives drug information including information indicating the type of drug in the drug cartridge transmitted from RF tag 16 of the drug cartridge, and first temperature information detected by the first temperature sensor, determines the motor drive power based on the first temperature information, and controls the motor driver to output the determined drive power. Also, if the temperature indicated by the first temperature information is within a certain temperature range, it is determined that the temperature is not suitable for injection, and does not drive motor 264, thereby not starting the injection operation.

[0130] To achieve this control, control information for controlling motor 264 for each of a plurality of drugs is stored in memory 254. The control information for each drug includes a set of motor control parameters for each of a plurality of temperature ranges.

[0131] Table 1 shows an example of a set of motor control parameters stored in memory 254. Drug A and drug B are shown as examples of multiple drugs. Drug B has a higher viscosity than Drug A. Furthermore, the following temperature ranges are shown: less than 0°C, 0°C or higher but lower than 10°C, 10°C or higher but lower than 20°C, 20°C or higher but lower than 38°C, and 38°C or higher. 0°C, 38°C, and 10°C are examples of the first temperature, second temperature, and third temperature, respectively. If no drug cartridge 10 is inserted in cassette 100, RF-ID reader 277 cannot acquire either drug information or first temperature information. Memory 254 may further include a set of motor control parameters for when no drug cartridge is inserted.

[0132] [Table 1]

[0133] If the first temperature information is below 0°C, the medicine may be frozen. If the first temperature information is above 38°C, the medicine may have deteriorated due to storage at a high temperature. If the first temperature information is within these two temperature ranges, it is not desirable to perform an injection. For this reason, drive information C is assigned regardless of whether the medicine type in the medicine information is A or B. Drive information C may, for example, be information that does not drive motor 264. If a medicine cartridge is not inserted in cassette 100, injection cannot be performed regardless of the temperature range, so drive information C is assigned for all temperature ranges. For the temperature ranges of 0°C or higher and lower than 10°C, 10°C or higher and lower than 20°C, and 20°C or higher and lower than 38°C, control parameter sets of drive information A1, A2, A3 and drive information B1, B2, B3 are assigned to medicine A and medicine B, respectively.

[0134] Table 2 shows a specific example of a control parameter set for drive information A1, A2, A3 and drive information B1, B2, B3. The motor drive power may be adjusted by, for example, adjusting the applied voltage, or by other methods. In this embodiment, the drive power is adjusted by PWM (pulse width modulation) to control the motor. FIG. 17 shows an example of a PWM drive signal and the rotation speed of a motor rotated by the drive signal. The drive information defining the PWM drive signal includes, for example, an initial duty ratio, a duty ratio increase amount, an increase period, a maximum increase wait time, and a target duty ratio.

[0135] Over the entire temperature range, the viscosity of drug B is higher than that of drug A. Therefore, when comparing each temperature range, the initial duty ratio is higher for drug B than for drug A. This is because a larger driving power is required to drive a drug with a higher viscosity. In this embodiment, the increase period and maximum increase waiting time are shorter for drug B than for drug A, and the target duty ratio is higher for drug B than for drug A over each temperature range.

[0136] Furthermore, for each drug, the parameter values ​​decrease as the temperature range increases. In other words, the higher the lower limit of each temperature range, the smaller the initial duty ratio, duty ratio increase width, increase period, maximum increase wait time, and target duty ratio become. This is because the higher the drug temperature, the lower the viscosity, and the less power required for driving.

[0137] [Table 2]

[0138] For example, when the drug information is drug A and the first temperature information is 15° C., the control device 280 reads out the drive information A2 from the memory 254 and drives the motor driver 263 using the parameters included in the drive information A2.

[0139] As shown in Table 2 and FIG. 17, regardless of whether drive information A1-A3 or B1-B3 is selected, the duty ratio increases stepwise, causing the control device 280 to generate a drive signal from the motor driver so that the current flowing through the motor increases stepwise. Once the duty ratio reaches the target duty ratio, the motor continues to be driven at the target duty ratio. In this way, by performing PWM control at the start of the motor, where the duty ratio is initially set to a value corresponding to the viscosity of the drug and the duty ratio increases stepwise, the peak value of the starting (starting) current (current overshoot) can be reduced.

[0140] Fig. 18A shows the starting current generated when PWM control is not performed, and Fig. 18B shows an example of the starting current generated by PWM control according to this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 18A, when PWM control is not performed, a peak current of up to about 800 mA flows. In contrast, according to this embodiment, the peak current can be suppressed to about 400 mA.

[0141] Using an initial duty ratio value that corresponds to the viscosity of the drug contributes particularly to shortening the time it takes for motor 264 to reach a steady state. Even without changing the initial duty ratio value according to the drug's viscosity, current overshoot at startup can be suppressed by driving motor 264 with a pulse signal that gradually increases the duty ratio. However, if an appropriate initial duty ratio value according to the viscosity is not used, it may take a very long time for the gasket of drug cartridge 10 to start and move at a constant speed. This may result in a longer injection time, making it impractical or placing a greater burden on the operator.

[0142] In this embodiment, overall PWM control parameters, such as the initial duty ratio, are set taking into account differences in viscosity due to drug type and temperature. This reduces the time it takes for motor 264 to reach a steady state, while also reducing the starting current. This reduces the maximum discharge current, allowing the capacity of the secondary battery to be reduced. This makes it possible to achieve a pharmaceutical injection device that is capable of performing injections with an appropriate driving force, even when equipped with a secondary battery with a smaller capacity. With the pharmaceutical injection device of this embodiment, the battery capacity can be reduced by, for example, approximately 20 to 30% compared to when the driving power is not adjusted. This makes it possible to achieve a smaller and lighter pharmaceutical injection device that is easier to handle and offers excellent operability.

[0143] As mentioned above, the first temperature information transmitted from the RF tag 16 of the drug cartridge 10 can also be used to determine whether the temperature is appropriate for injection. Below, with reference to Figures 19A and 19B, an example of an injection operation in which the first temperature information is also used to determine whether an injection is appropriate is shown. Figures 19A and 19B are flowcharts explaining the operation of the drug injection device 200 during an injection operation. The injection operation will be explained with reference to Figure 5 and these figures.

[0144] When the operator loads cassette 100 into pharmaceutical injection device 200, control device 280 causes the transmitting and receiving circuit of RF-ID reader 277 to transmit a signal to generate an electromotive force for transmitting information to RF tag 16 (S1). If RF-ID reader 277 cannot receive a signal from RF tag 16, this means that a pharmaceutical cartridge 10 is not inserted in cassette 100. In this case, control device 280 reads drive information C from memory 254 (S2) and drives motor 264 using drive information C (S3). Drive information C is, for example, information that controls motor driver 263 so that motor 264 remains stopped.

[0145] When the RF-ID reader 277 receives a signal from the RF tag 16 (S4), the control device 280 stores the drug information, including information indicating the type of drug in the drug cartridge 10, transmitted from the RF tag 16 of the drug cartridge 10, and the first temperature information detected by the first temperature sensor as T0 in the memory 254. T0 is also used as an initial temperature to predict the time required for the drug to reach an appropriate temperature, as described below.

[0146] The control device 280 compares the temperature indicated by the acquired first temperature information with a reference temperature (S5). The reference temperatures are 0°C (first temperature), 20°C (third temperature), and 38°C (second temperature). If the temperature indicated by the first temperature information is below 0°C or above 38°C (first temperature range), the drug in the drug cartridge 10 may be frozen or may have deteriorated due to high temperature. For this reason, the control device 280 causes, for example, the display device 259 to display a screen prompting the user to replace the drug cartridge 10 (S6), and terminates the drug injection operation.

[0147] If the temperature indicated by the first temperature information is equal to or higher than 0°C and lower than 20°C (second temperature range), the temperature of the medicine is low and there is a possibility that pain may be felt during injection. For this reason, the control device 280 causes, for example, the display device 259 to display a screen urging the operator to wait for the medicine temperature to rise before injecting (S7). In this case, the operator may decide that they want to inject quickly even if they feel some pain, so the control device 280 accepts an input of whether to select injection or to select wait (S8). If the operator selects wait, the flow proceeds to the reminder operation flow. On the other hand, if the operator selects injection, the flow proceeds to the administration operation flow.

[0148] If the temperature indicated by the first temperature information is equal to or higher than 20°C and lower than 38°C (third temperature range), injection can be performed, and the flow proceeds to the administration operation.

[0149] As shown in FIG. 19B, in the flow of the administration operation, the control device 280 first determines whether the drug information is drug A or drug B (S11). If the drug information is drug A, the first temperature information is compared with a reference temperature (S12), and drive information according to the comparison result is read from memory 254. As shown in Tables 1 and 2, if the temperature indicated by the first temperature information is equal to or higher than 0°C and lower than 10°C, drive information A1 is read from memory 254; if it is equal to or higher than 10°C and lower than 20°C, drive information A2 is read; and if it is equal to or higher than 20°C and lower than 38°C, drive information A3 is read (S14, S15, S16). If the drug information is drug B, the first temperature information is similarly compared with the reference temperature (S13), and drive information according to the comparison result is read from memory 254. If the temperature indicated by the first temperature information is equal to or greater than 0°C and less than 10°C, drive information B1 is read out from memory 254; if it is equal to or greater than 10°C and less than 20°C, drive information B2 is read out; and if it is equal to or greater than 20°C and less than 38°C, drive information B3 is read out from memory 254 (S17, S18, S19).

[0150] The control device 280 uses the parameters of the selected drive information to control the motor driver 263, and rotates the motor 264 by PWM control as described above.

[0151] Next, the reminding operation will be described. If the temperature of the medicine is low and the operator chooses to wait until the medicine reaches an appropriate temperature before injecting, the control device 280 of the pharmaceutical injection device 200 will perform a reminding operation. Figure 19C is a flowchart showing an example of the reminding operation.

[0152] In the reminding operation, the control device 280 sequentially receives first temperature information from the first temperature sensor 15 affixed to the drug cartridge 10, and notifies the user when the drug temperature reaches the appropriate temperature. In this embodiment, the control device 280 also predicts the time required for the drug to reach the appropriate temperature and notifies the user of the predicted time. To this end, the control device 280 receives second temperature information from the second temperature sensor 273, and if the second temperature information is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature, the control device 280 sequentially acquires first temperature information at predetermined time intervals. Based on the acquired first and second temperature information, the control device 280 sequentially calculates the predicted time until the drug becomes available for injection, and controls the display device to display information indicating the calculated predicted time.

[0153] Specifically, first, the control device 280 receives second temperature information from the second temperature sensor 273 and determines whether the second temperature information is 20°C or higher (S21). The second temperature information output by the second temperature sensor 273 directly indicates the temperature inside the device housing 201. However, if the second temperature sensor 273 is not easily affected by heat emitted from components inside the device housing 201, the second temperature information will roughly match the environmental temperature in which the pharmaceutical injection device 200 is used. The temperature of the pharmaceutical rises to room temperature when the pharmaceutical cartridge 10 is removed from a refrigerator or the like and kept indoors. Therefore, if the room temperature is below 20°C, it is difficult for the temperature of the pharmaceutical to reach 20°C, that is, a temperature suitable for injection, even if the pharmaceutical cartridge 10 is kept indoors. For this reason, if the second temperature information is below 20°C, the control device 280, for example, causes the display device 259 to display a screen informing the user that injection is not possible because the room temperature is low (S35), and ends the reminding operation.

[0154] If the second temperature information is 20°C or higher, the control device 280 stores the initially acquired temperature T0 of the medicine cartridge as T1 (S22). The control device 280 also adjusts the timing for acquiring the first temperature information. If one minute has passed since the previous or initial acquisition of the first temperature information, the process proceeds to the next step (S23).

[0155] The control device 280 determines the power status of the pharmaceutical injection device 200 (S24). If it is in the OFF state due to auto power off or the like, it turns the power ON (S25) and proceeds to the next step. If the power is ON, it proceeds directly to the next step.

[0156] The control device 280 acquires the first temperature information and stores it as the current measurement value T2 (S26). Next, the difference between T2 and T1, which is the measurement value of the immediately preceding (previous) first temperature information, is calculated (S27). If the difference between T2 and T1 is 1 or more, the temperature of the medicine is rising rapidly, making it difficult to accurately predict the time required for the medicine to reach the appropriate temperature. Therefore, the device waits again until a certain period of time has passed. Specifically, first, the latest first temperature information T2 is stored as T1 (S31), and the power status is determined (S32). If the device is in auto-power mode, the power is turned off (S33), and the process returns to the step of waiting for one minute (S23). If the device is not in auto-power mode, the power status remains unchanged, and the process returns to the step of waiting for one minute (S23).

[0157] If the difference between T2 and T1 is less than 1 (S27), the control device 280 calculates how much time is left until the temperature of the medicine cartridge 10, in other words, the temperature of the medicine, reaches the appropriate temperature.

[0158] According to detailed studies by the present inventors, when a medicine cartridge 10 that has been stored at a low temperature is maintained at an environmental temperature for injection, such as indoors, the rate of temperature rise immediately thereafter may vary depending on the size of the medicine cartridge 10 and the amount of medicine contained therein. However, it has been found that once the rate of temperature rise slows down, the rate of subsequent temperature rise becomes approximately the same regardless of the size and amount of medicine of the medicine cartridge 10. More specifically, it has been found that when the difference between T2 and T1 is less than 1°C, the rate of subsequent temperature rise becomes approximately the same regardless of the size and amount of medicine of the medicine cartridge 10, and the temperature of the medicine can be approximated by the elapsed time from the time the initial temperature TO was acquired.

[0159] For example, if the difference between T2 and T1 is less than 1°C, the temperature f(x) of the drug estimated from the elapsed time when the elapsed time is x is expressed by the following function depending on the temperature range of the second temperature information, which can be considered the environmental temperature. (1) If the second temperature information is between 25°C and 30°C

number

number

[0160] For example, if the second temperature information is 25°C, the temperature of the medicine after the time when the difference between T2 and T1 becomes less than 1°C can be predicted using the elapsed time using equation (1). The elapsed time from the time when the initial temperature TO was acquired when the difference between T2 and T1 becomes less than 1°C is t n It is expressed as t n The time that has passed from t to t is expressed as one minute. n+1 , t n+2 , t n+3 , t n+i Let t n The first temperature information T2 at this time is T2 n In this case, t n The predicted temperature of the drug T(i) i minutes after the injection is given by the following equation:

number

[0161] If the temperature of the medicine suitable for injection is, for example, 20° C. or higher, the control device 280 determines the elapsed time t when the difference between T2 and T1 becomes less than 1. n and f(t n ) is calculated. Also, when i=1, f(t n+1 ) are calculated. These two values ​​and the first temperature information T2 n From this, T(1) is calculated. If T(1) is less than 20°C, the control device 280 increases i by 1 and performs the same calculation until T(i) is 20°C or higher. If T(i) is 20°C or higher, the control device 280 determines i at that time as the predicted time.

[0162] The control device 280 receives the first temperature information T2 at this time (present). n is less than 20°C (S29), and if it is less than 20°C, the control device 280 causes the display device 259 to notify the predicted time, that is, to display a screen indicating that the medicine will reach the appropriate temperature in i minutes (S30). The notification of the predicted time is not limited to the display device 259, and the control device 280 may transmit the predicted time to a portable device such as a smartphone or tablet terminal of the operator using the communication unit 262, and cause the portable device to perform a notification such as a display.

[0163] Thereafter, the latest first temperature information T2 is stored as T1 (S31), and the state of the power supply is determined (S32). If the mode is auto power mode, the power supply is turned off (S33), and the process returns to the step of waiting for one minute (S23). If the mode is not auto power mode, the power supply state is not changed, and the process returns to the step of waiting for one minute (S23). Furthermore, steps S23 to S29 are repeated, and the time until the optimum temperature is predicted is estimated. From the second time onwards, when the time until the optimum temperature is predicted, the elapsed time from the time when the initial temperature TO was acquired to that time is calculated as t n and the first temperature information T2 nThe first temperature information T2, which is a new actual measurement value, is used for time prediction. n By using the above, more accurate predictions can be made.

[0164] In the second and subsequent time predictions, the control device 280 uses the first temperature information T2 n If the temperature is 20°C or higher, the display device 259 displays a screen indicating that the temperature has reached the appropriate level (S34), and the reminding operation ends. Thereafter, the operation proceeds to the administration operation as shown in Figure 19A.

[0165] A calculation example is shown in Table 3. Let us assume that the difference between T2 and T1 becomes less than 1°C after 5 minutes (n=5) have passed since the initial temperature TO was acquired, and the first temperature information T25 at this time is 13.45°C.

[0166] [Table 3]

[0167] For i=1, the predicted temperature of the medicine one minute after this point (six minutes after the initial temperature TO is obtained) is 14.3555°C. For i=10, the predicted temperature of the medicine is 20.075°C, which is above 20°C, so it is determined that the predicted time to reach the optimum temperature is 10 minutes later. As mentioned above, when the time prediction calculation is performed again after one minute has passed, the actual measured value T26 is used.

[0168] According to this embodiment, the operator is notified of the number of minutes remaining until the medicine reaches the appropriate temperature and can be injected, allowing the operator to decide how to use the time until the medicine reaches the appropriate temperature.

[0169] In this embodiment, the reminding operation calculates the predicted time until the medicine reaches the appropriate temperature, but it is not necessary to calculate and notify the predicted time. In other words, the first temperature information may be acquired at predetermined time intervals, and when the first temperature information reaches or exceeds a predetermined temperature, the system may notify the user that the medicine has reached the appropriate temperature and is ready for injection.

[0170] <Touch Sensor 275> 1 and 13, touch sensor 275 is located on skin contact surface 201e of convex portion 201t of pharmaceutical injection device 200. This makes it possible to detect whether skin contact surface 201e is in firm contact with the skin, and to detect improper holding of pharmaceutical injection device 200, such as wobbling, before needle 22 completely separates from the skin during injection. Touch sensor 275 is described in detail below.

[0171] The touch sensor 275 is a surface charge transfer touch sensor. It includes a sensor capacitor Cx disposed on the skin contact surface 201e, a sampling capacitor Cs, and a control circuit incorporated in the control device 280. The control circuit of the touch sensor 275 first discharges the sensor capacitor Cx and the sampling capacitor Cs to reset the touch sensor 275. The control circuit of the touch sensor 275 then charges the sensor capacitor Cx and transfers the charge stored in the sensor capacitor Cx to the sampling capacitor Cs. This charging and transfer operation is repeated, successively accumulating charge in the sampling capacitor Cs. The control circuit monitors the voltage of the sampling capacitor Cs, and when the voltage exceeds a predetermined value, it outputs the number of transfers N that have been repeated up to that point. This number of transfers N is inversely proportional to the capacitance of the sensor capacitor Cx; as the capacitance of the sensor capacitor Cx increases, the number of transfers N decreases. When skin contact surface 201e of convex portion 201t of pharmaceutical injection device 200 is in contact with the skin of an operator, etc., the capacitance of sensor capacitor Cx increases, and therefore the charge accumulated in sensor capacitor Cx also increases, increasing the amount of charge transferred to sampling capacitor Cs in one transfer operation. As a result, the number of transfers N until the voltage of sampling capacitor Cs exceeds a predetermined value decreases.

[0172] Figure 20 shows an example of the results of confirming the detection sensitivity of touch sensor 275 using pharmaceutical injection device 200. In Figure 20, results where N is approximately 900 times indicate results when skin contact surface 201e is in contact with the skin, and results where N is approximately 1300 times indicate results when skin contact surface 201e is not in contact with the skin. Figure 20 shows that there is a large difference in the number of transfers N when skin contact surface 201e is in contact with the skin and when it is not, and that whether or not skin is in contact can be clearly determined by using the number of transfers N. In the example above, for example, if the number of transfers is 1050 or less, it may be determined that contact with the skin is occurring, and if the number of transfers is 1100 or more, it may be determined that the skin is not in contact.

[0173] The time required for one transfer operation in a surface charge transfer touch sensor is, for example, approximately 0.5 to 4 microseconds, and the time required for the voltage of sampling capacitor Cs to exceed a predetermined value is approximately 2 to 8 milliseconds. Because the area of ​​skin contact surface 201e is relatively small and, depending on the injection site, it may be difficult to stabilize the position in which pharmaceutical injection device 200 is held during injection, for example, when contact with the skin is detected five to eight times in a row, it may be determined that pharmaceutical injection device 200 is being held correctly and that an injection is possible. For example, when 1050 or fewer transfers are detected five consecutive times, it may be determined that touch sensor 275 has detected contact with the skin, and in other cases it may be determined that touch sensor 275 has detected separation from the skin.

[0174] Surface charge transfer touch sensors are superior to conventional oscillation-type touch sensors in that they are less susceptible to noise, and as a result, can detect skin contact with skin contact surface 201e more reliably than conventional touch sensors, enabling safer and more reliable handling of the pharmaceutical injection device.

[0175] Figure 21 is a flowchart illustrating the injection operation of pharmaceutical injection device 200 using touch sensor 275. As shown in Figure 21, after starting the preparatory operation for injection, control device 280 checks whether touch sensor 275 is connected or not using the control circuit of touch sensor 275 (S101), and if it is not connected, causes display device 259 to display a message indicating a malfunction or abnormality (S102).

[0176] If touch sensor 275 is connected correctly, it causes display device 259 to display information such as images and text urging the user to press skin contact surface 201e against the skin and hold pharmaceutical injection device 200 in a position where injection is possible (S103). Control device 280 sequentially receives detection signals from the control circuit of touch sensor 275. For example, if it receives a detection signal indicating a transfer count of 1050 or less five times in a row (hereinafter referred to as skin contact detected, S104), control device 280 causes display device 259 to display information urging the user to press injection button 258 (S105).

[0177] When the control device 280 detects a signal that the injection button 258 has been pressed (S106), it controls the motor driver 263 to perform the injection operation described above, i.e., to inject the medication (S107). During the medication injection operation, the control device 280 sequentially receives detection signals in parallel from the control circuit of the touch sensor 275. If it cannot detect contact with the skin, i.e., if the touch sensor 275 detects that the skin has been removed (S108), the control device 280 interrupts the injection operation and causes the display device 259 to display information indicating that the pharmaceutical injection device 200 has moved away from the injection site and information prompting the user to input whether to interrupt or continue the injection (S110).

[0178] When the control device 280 detects a signal that the injection button 258 has been pressed (S111), it confirms that the touch sensor 275 has detected contact with the skin (S112) and returns to the injection operation (S113). When the operator performs an input to interrupt the injection (for example, input of the decision button 257), the control device 280 ends the injection operation.

[0179] The end of the injection operation is determined by the control device 280, for example, based on the number of pulses or the number of rotations detected by the rotary encoder 265 (S109), and the injection operation is ended.

[0180] <Acceleration sensor 276> The pharmaceutical injection device 200 of this embodiment is equipped with an acceleration sensor 276. This makes it possible to detect the position of the pharmaceutical injection device 200, and to prompt the operator to change the position of the pharmaceutical injection device 200.

[0181] As shown in FIG. 13, acceleration sensor 276 can be located on main board 290, for example. Acceleration sensor 276 preferably has first, second, and third axes that are orthogonal to one another and can detect acceleration along the axes or angular acceleration around the axes. Furthermore, it is preferable that acceleration sensor 276 is located within the housing so that one of the first, second, and third axes coincides with the direction of piston movement. In this embodiment, acceleration sensor 276 detects acceleration along the first, second, and third axes. For example, as shown in FIG. 22, in pharmaceutical injection device 200, the positive direction of the y-axis coincides with the direction of piston 210 movement and the direction of the piston's forward movement, and the z-axis corresponds to the direction of the normal vector of the surface on which display device 259 is located. In this case, the x-axis coincides with the direction of the normal vector of the right side surface when pharmaceutical injection device 200 is held facing upward. The x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis are fixed to pharmaceutical injection device 200. The acceleration sensor 276 can detect gravitational acceleration along the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis, and can therefore detect the attitude of the pharmaceutical injection device 200, for example, the tilt of the y-axis from the vertical direction.

[0182] The results of this posture detection can be used for various operations and actions of pharmaceutical injection device 200. For example, before an injection, it is preferable to remove air from within pharmaceutical cartridge 10 by performing air removal (also called blank injection). This operation involves moving piston 210 with needle 22 facing upward, thereby expelling air trapped above pharmaceutical cartridge 10 from needle 22. However, if the tip of pharmaceutical injection device 200 is tilted rather than pointing directly upward, as shown in FIG. 23, depending on the shape of cylindrical columnar space 11c of pharmaceutical cartridge 10, air may be trapped at corner 11h of cylindrical columnar space 11c, where air is difficult to remove. In such cases, acceleration sensor 276 can be used to guide the operator to hold pharmaceutical injection device 200 in a posture suitable for air removal.

[0183] The degree to which the pharmaceutical injection device 200 should be held upright without tilting when air is purged depends on the cylindrical columnar space 11c of the pharmaceutical cartridge 10, but generally, as shown in Figure 24, in a coordinate system where the vertical direction is fixed as the y' axis, if the y axis of the pharmaceutical injection device 200 is within ±70° from the vertical direction, that is, in the range of 70° to 110° relative to the x' axis, the operator will not find it difficult to adjust the posture (orientation), and air will be able to be purged almost correctly.

[0184] 25 shows a flowchart of the operation of performing air purging using acceleration sensor 276. When the operator selects the air purging operation or when the operator inputs a command to perform an injection and control device 280 performs air purging, control device 280 causes display device 259 to display information (information regarding the attitude of the pharmaceutical injection device) that prompts the operator to hold pharmaceutical injection device 200 facing upward (S201). Control device 280 receives the detection signal from acceleration sensor 276, specifically, acceleration information in the x, y, and z axes, calculates the angle of tilt of the y-axis from the horizontal, and makes a determination regarding the tilt (S202). If the angle of tilt is outside the range of 70° to 110°, then pharmaceutical injection device 200 is tilted, and control device 280 causes display device 259 to display information that pharmaceutical injection device 200 is tilted and prompts the operator to hold it correctly facing upward (S203).

[0185] If the calculated angle is between 70° and 110°, the control device 280 controls the motor driver 263 to drive the motor 264, and starts the air venting operation by moving the piston 210 forward (S204).

[0186] While the piston is moving, the control device 280 successively receives detection signals from the acceleration sensor 276 and makes a determination regarding the tilt (S205). If the angle of tilt is outside the range of 70° to 110°, the control device 280 stops driving the motor 264 and causes the display device 259 to display information that the pharmaceutical injection device 200 is tilted and urging the operator to hold it correctly facing upward (S207). Furthermore, when the angle of tilt falls between 70° and 110° (S208), the control device 280 resumes driving the motor 264 (S208).

[0187] The end of the air venting operation is determined by the control device 280, for example, based on the number of pulses or the number of rotations detected by the rotary encoder 265 (S206), and the air venting operation is ended.

[0188] In this way, by using the acceleration sensor 276 to detect the position of the pharmaceutical injection device 200, it is possible to present the operator with information on how to handle the pharmaceutical injection device 200 more appropriately.

[0189] As described above, the pharmaceutical injection device 200 of this embodiment is also compatible with pharmaceutical cartridge 10', which contains an unused pharmaceutical in which liquid and solid components are held separately. When using pharmaceutical cartridge 10', as described with reference to Figures 9A, 9B, 10(a), and 10(b), liquid component 14A and solid component 14B are brought into contact with each other before use. However, simply bringing liquid component 14A and solid component 14B into contact may not immediately dissolve solid component 14B in liquid component 14A. For this reason, it is preferable for the operator to move pharmaceutical injection device 200 to mix (stir) liquid component 14A and solid component 14B. Detection of the orientation of pharmaceutical injection device 200 using acceleration sensor 276 is also suitable for performing such mixing operations. The pharmaceutical mixing operation using acceleration sensor 276 is described below.

[0190] FIG. 26 is a flowchart of the mixing operation. One possible way to move the drug is to shake drug injection device 200 up and down. However, this type of movement may cause liquid component 14A to foam, making it impossible to perform injection immediately after mixing. Moving drug injection device 200 up and down also carries the risk of it being knocked against furniture such as a desk, which is undesirable. In this embodiment, to slowly mix the drug without foaming, drug injection device 200 is tilted left and right as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 22. The orientation of drug injection device 200 is indicated by the angle of the y-axis of drug injection device 200 shown in FIG. 22 on the x'y' coordinate system shown in FIG. 27. The x'y' coordinate system is fixed regardless of the orientation of drug injection device 200. As shown in FIG. 27, the positive direction of the x' axis is set to 0°, and is expressed as ±180°. As shown in FIG. 27, the range from −45° to 45° is defined as Zone 1, the range from 45° to 135° as Zone 2, and the range from −180° to −135° or 135° to 180° as Zone 3.

[0191] The control device 280 determines that the operator is correctly shaking the drug injection device 200 and mixing the drugs by determining that the y-axis angle of the drug injection device 200 calculated using the acceleration sensor 276 falls within the range of zone 1, the range of zone 2, and the range of zone 3 in a predetermined order.

[0192] As shown in Figure 26, first, after bringing liquid component 14A and solid component 14B into contact before use (automatic dissolution operation), control device 280 causes display device 259 to display information prompting the operator to perform the shaking operation described above (S301). Next, a counter is reset to count the number of shakings (S302). As shown in Figure 28, the operator tilts pharmaceutical injection device 200 left and right in the order of P1, P2, P3, P4, and P1. At this time, control device 280 receives a detection signal from acceleration sensor 276 and sequentially determines whether the tilt of the y-axis is within each of the following ranges: zone 1 (-45° to 45°) (S303), zone 2 (45° to 135°) (S304), zone 3 (-180° to -135° or 135° to 180°) (S305), zone 2, and zone 1.

[0193] Thereafter, the control device 280 increments the count by 1 and determines whether the count has reached a specified value (S309). For example, the specified value is 5, and if the count is equal to or less than the specified value, the control device 280 repeats the above-described detection operation (S303 to S308).

[0194] If the mixture does not enter any of the zones, it is determined that the mixture is not oscillated correctly, and the mixture is re-detected from the state where the mixture returns to zone 1. When the count reaches a specified value (S309), the mixing operation ends.

[0195] By performing such an operation, the control device 280 can detect that the operator has performed the mixing operation correctly.

[0196] Furthermore, according to the control of the mixing operation described above, unless the position of the pharmaceutical injection device 200 is detected as having entered zone 1 or zone 3, in particular, one round-trip rocking motion is not counted. Therefore, if the operator repeatedly performs inappropriate rocking operations, it is conceivable that the rocking motion will not be completed. In such cases, images corresponding to the operations shown in P1 to P4 in FIG. 28 may be displayed sequentially on the display device 259. For example, images showing the operations P1 to P4 may be displayed before the determinations of S303, S304, S305, S306, and S307 in the flowchart, respectively. Such displays make it easier for the operator to move the pharmaceutical injection device 200 in accordance with the display, making it possible to prevent inappropriate operations such as a small tilt angle. Furthermore, by receiving specific operational instructions, the operator can confirm that the operation is correct and that the movement is appropriate, allowing for greater peace of mind in using the pharmaceutical injection device 200.

[0197] <Rotary Encoder 265> The rotary encoder 265 detects the number of rotations (amount of drive) of the motor 264. Because the amount of medicine to be injected is set by the number of rotations of the motor 264, it is important to accurately measure the number of rotations of the motor 264, and for this reason, it is important that the rotary encoder 265 can make accurate measurements. The rotary encoder 265 of this embodiment has a structure that can correctly detect a failure if the rotary encoder 265 itself fails.

[0198] FIG. 29 is an exploded perspective view showing a portion of the piston drive mechanism 220 including the rotary encoder 265. As described above, the rotary encoder 265 includes an encoder plate 266 attached to the rotating shaft of the motor and a pulse encoder 267 including a light-emitting element 267c and a light-receiving element 267d. FIG. 30 is a plan view of the encoder plate 266. The encoder plate 266 includes one reference blade portion 266S and multiple normal blade portions 266N arranged circumferentially. In this embodiment, the encoder plate 266 includes five normal blade portions 266N. The reference blade portion 266S has a blade 266Sf and a notch 266Sc. Furthermore, each normal blade portion 266N has a blade 266Nf and a notch 266Nc.

[0199] The circumferential lengths of the blades 266Nf of the normal blade portion 266N are equal to each other. Also, the circumferential lengths of the notches 266Nc of the normal blade portion 266N are equal to each other. In contrast, the circumferential lengths of the blades 266Sf of the reference blade portion 266S and the circumferential lengths of the notches 266Sc are different from the circumferential lengths of the blades 266Nf of the normal blade portion 266N and the circumferential lengths of the notches 266Nc of the normal blade portion 266N, respectively.

[0200] In this embodiment, the central angles of blade 266Nf and notch 266Nc of normal blade portion 266N are each 30°. Meanwhile, the central angle of blade 266Sf of reference blade portion 266S is 45°, and the central angle of notch 266Sc is 15°. By setting the central angle of blade 266Sf of reference blade portion 266S to be approximately 1.5 times the central angle of blade 266Nf of normal blade portion 266N, it becomes easier to detect the difference between reference blade portion 266S and normal blade portion 266N. Furthermore, the larger blade 266Sf is, the smaller notch 266Sc becomes; however, if it is approximately 1.5 times larger, notch 266Sc can be detected with sufficient accuracy.

[0201] The encoder plate 266 is attached to the rotating shaft of the motor 264, and when the motor rotates once, the encoder plate 266 also rotates once.

[0202] The light-receiving element 267d of the pulse encoder 267 is positioned at a position where light emitted from the light-emitting element 267c is incident. The pulse encoder 267 detects changes in the amount of light that occur when the reference blade portion 266S and the normal blade portion 266N of the encoder plate 266, which rotates in unison with the rotation of the motor 264, cross the optical path between the light-emitting element 267c and the light-receiving element 267d, and generates a pulse signal. Figure 31 shows an example of a pulse signal. The example shown in Figure 31 shows a signal obtained when the encoder plate 266 shown in Figure 30 rotates counterclockwise. The pulse signal P includes a pulse Ps corresponding to the blade 266Sf of the reference blade portion 266S and a pulse Pn corresponding to the blades 266Nf of the multiple normal blade portions 266N. The rising edge of each pulse is called a control edge, and the falling edge is called a check edge. The control edge and the check edge can be distinguished by whether the amount of light detected by the light-receiving element increases or decreases.

[0203] The control device 280 receives a pulse signal P from the rotary encoder 265 and controls the motor driver 263 based on the pulse signal P. Specifically, the control device 280 controls the rotation speed of the motor 264 based on the pulse signal P. The control device 280 also detects malfunctions in the rotary encoder 265 and stops the rotation of the motor 264 if a malfunction is detected. One of the main malfunctions of the rotary encoder 265 that must be detected is a broken or cracked blade of the encoder plate 266. A broken blade refers to a blade breaking near its base and falling off. When a blade is broken, the number of pulses generated per rotation of the encoder plate 266 decreases. Conversely, when a blade is cracked, two or more pulses are generated per blade, and the number of pulses generated per rotation of the encoder plate 266 increases. In either case, errors occur in the measurement of the rotation speed and rotation angle of the motor 264, affecting the dosage of the drug, so it is preferable to detect these malfunctions early.

[0204] For this purpose, the control device 280 includes a failure determiner 281, as shown in Fig. 32. The failure determiner 281 includes a blade information acquisition unit 282, a breakage detection unit 283, a speed stability determination unit 284, a reference blade detection unit 285, a blade number detection unit 286, and a break / crack detection unit 287.

[0205] The blade information acquisition unit 282 receives the pulse signal from the pulse encoder 267 and measures the times of the control edge and check edge of the pulse Ps and pulse Pn in the pulse signal P based on the reference clock of the control device 280, for example.

[0206] The breakage detection unit 283 sequentially calculates the blade ratio and outputs a detection signal indicating an abnormality when the blade ratio falls below a reference value. Specifically, the breakage detection unit 283 detects an abnormality in which one or more blades 266Sf or 266Nf break and fall off the encoder plate 266. This is because if one or more blades are completely missing, the number of pulses per rotation decreases more reliably than if only a portion of the blade is broken and missing, resulting in a larger error in the drug dosage. The blade ratio refers to the ratio of each pulse width (Ps, Pn) in the pulse signal P to the time from the control edge of each pulse to the control edge of the next pulse, i.e., the time width from the control edge to the check edge of each pulse. As shown in Table 4, the blade ratio of pulse Ps is 75% (75 / 100), and the blade ratio of pulse Pn is 50% (50 / 100). When one blade adjacent to normal blade portion 266N (for example, blade 266Nf corresponding to pulse Pn2 adjacent to pulse Pn1) is missing, the blade ratio is 25% (50 / 200), and when one blade adjacent to reference blade portion 266S (blades 266Nf corresponding to pulse Pn1) is missing, the blade ratio is 37.5% (75 / 200). When two blades adjacent to normal blade portion 266N are missing, the blade ratio is 16.7% (50 / 300), and when two blades adjacent to reference blade portion 266S are missing, the blade ratio is 25% (75 / 300). Therefore, for example, using 37.5% as the reference value, if the blade ratio is 37.5% or less, it may be determined that blades in one or more blade portions are broken.

[0207] The reference value used by the breakage detection unit 283 for the determination may be another value. When the reference value is set to a value smaller than 25%, for example, 24%, it can be determined that two or more blades have been missing consecutively. When two or more blades are missing consecutively, the number of pulses per rotation of the encoder plate 266 becomes smaller, and the error in the administered amount of the drug also becomes larger. Furthermore, the set reference value is not limited to the value shown in Table 4, and the reference value may be determined taking into account a margin due to variations in the rotation speed of the motor 264.

[0208] [Table 4]

[0209] Each time the breakage detection unit 283 detects the control edge of each pulse Ps, Pn, it calculates the blade ratio using the control edge time and check edge time of the immediately preceding pulse, and if the value is within the above-mentioned range, it outputs a signal indicating a fault. As mentioned above, blade breakage is likely to cause a decrease in the number of pulses, which will result in a large error in the measurement of the rotation speed and rotation angle of the motor 264. For this reason, when the breakage detection unit 283 outputs a signal indicating an abnormality, the control device 280 directly controls the motor driver 263 to immediately stop the motor 264, without using the judgment result of the speed stability judgment unit 284, which will be described later.

[0210] The speed stability determination unit 284 determines whether the rotation speed of the encoder plate 266 is stable. This can be determined, for example, by measuring the length of the pulse interval (the time interval between the control edges of two adjacent pulses). However, if the blades are broken or cracked, the pulse interval will change. Specifically, if a part of the blade is missing, the pulse width will be shorter and the pulse interval may be longer. If the blade is broken, that is, if the blade is completely broken and missing, the pulse interval will also be longer. If the blade is cracked, one pulse will become two, and the pulse interval will be shorter in two places. In other words, the pulse intervals obtained during one rotation of the encoder plate 266 may include some that are longer or shorter due to chipped, broken, or cracked blades. Therefore, the speed stability determination unit 284 sequentially calculates and outputs the average time of the pulse intervals, excluding these.

[0211] If the number of blades on encoder plate 266 is n, and a broken blade generates n+1 pulses per rotation, the interval between two pulses is short. When pulses corresponding to r rotations of encoder plate 266 are detected, the number of short pulse intervals is (2 / (n+1)) × (nr). Similarly, if a blade is missing, the number of long pulse intervals is (1 / (n-1)) × (nr).

[0212] Therefore, if the number of blades, n, is 6 and a pulse signal with 18 pulses (three rotations) is acquired, the result is (2 / (6+1))×(18)=5.14, which means that there are 5 to 6 short pulse intervals.Similarly, the result is (1 / (6-1))×(18)=3.6, which means that there are 3 to 4 long pulses.

[0213] Therefore, to determine the correct rotation speed even if the blades are cracked or broken, the acquired 18 pulse intervals are sorted in order of length, the top four (longest) and bottom six (shortest) pulse interval data are excluded, and the stability is determined from the remaining eight pulse intervals. For example, the standard deviation of the eight pulse intervals is calculated, and if the standard deviation value is greater than a predetermined value, a signal is output indicating that the rotation speed is unstable. Alternatively, if the standard deviation value is less than a predetermined value, a signal is output indicating that the rotation speed is stable.

[0214] The reference blade detection unit 285 detects a pulse Ps based on the reference blade portion 266S in the pulse signal P, and outputs a detection signal. The above-mentioned blade ratio can be used for the detection.

[0215] The blade number detection unit 286 detects pulses Ps and Pn in the pulse signal and outputs a detection signal.

[0216] The broken / cracked detection unit 287 receives signals from the speed stability determination unit 284, the reference blade detection unit 285, and the blade number detection unit 286, and determines whether or not the blades are broken or cracked. For example, when a signal indicating that the rotation speed is stable is received from the speed stability determination unit 284, the number of pulses per rotation is calculated based on the detection signal output from the reference blade detection unit 285 and the detection signal from the blade number detection unit 286. If the number of pulses is not six, the unit determines that a blade has broken or cracked (hereinafter, blade breakage or cracking is referred to as a malfunction), and outputs a signal indicating a malfunction. When a signal indicating that the rotation speed is stable is not received from the speed stability determination unit 284, or when a signal indicating that the rotation speed is unstable is received from the speed stability determination unit 284, the detection signal from the blade number detection unit 286 may be inaccurate, and therefore the broken / cracked detection unit 287 does not output a detection result. Alternatively, the broken / cracked detection unit 287 outputs a signal indicating that correct measurement is not possible. This makes it possible to prevent erroneous detection of breakage or cracking of the blades of the encoder plate 266 due to an unstable rotation speed of the motor 264. When the control device 280 receives a signal indicating a failure from the breakage / crack detection unit 287, it controls the motor driver 263 to stop the motor 264.

[0217] The blade number detection unit 286 uses the determination result of the speed stability determination unit 284 to determine whether a failure has occurred. However, even if the speed stability determination unit 284 outputs a signal indicating that the rotation speed is stable, there is a possibility that a failure may be erroneously detected due to an unstable rotation speed. In other words, there is a considerable possibility that a single failure determination by the blade number detection unit 286 will result in an erroneous detection of a failure. In such cases, the probability of an erroneous detection of a failure can be further reduced by using the detection results of the breakage / crack detection unit 287 multiple times. For example, it is conceivable to set the number of failure detections used in one determination to multiple times and to accumulate the number of times a failure has been determined.

[0218] For example, suppose that N consecutive detection results are used for one determination by the break / crack detection unit 287, and the determination by the break / crack detection unit 287 is accumulated M times.

[0219] If the rotation speed of motor 264 is highly stable and strict accuracy in the administered amount of medicine is required, the possibility of erroneous detection by breakage / crack detection unit 287 is small to begin with. Also, if there is a possibility that the administered amount of medicine is inaccurate, it is preferable not to administer the medicine. For this reason, it is preferable to determine a malfunction when N=1 and M=1. In other words, if breakage / crack detection unit 287 detects a malfunction even once, it is preferable to stop motor 264 or interrupt the injection operation.

[0220] On the other hand, if there is a margin for accuracy in the drug dosage and a slightly under or overdose is unlikely to have an adverse effect on the operator, it is preferable to set N and M to values ​​greater than 1 to reduce the probability of false detection. For example, if N = 2 and M = 2, false detection will be determined based on four detection results. Table 5 shows an example. In Table 5, a fault (indicated by F in Table 5) is detected in the second and fourth tests, but since it is not detected twice consecutively (N = 1), it is not determined to be a fault (M is not counted). In the fifth and eighth tests, two faults are detected consecutively, and by the eighth test, it has been determined to be a fault twice in total. Therefore, at the eighth detection, the break / crack detection unit 287 outputs a signal indicating that a fault has been determined.

[0221] [Table 5]

[0222] The above-described fault detection of rotary encoder 265 may be set to be performed whenever pharmaceutical injection device 200 is operating and motor 264 is rotating. Alternatively, if it is undesirable to detect a fault during an injection and stop motor 264, thereby interrupting or ending the injection midway, fault detection may not be performed during the injection operation. Alternatively, fault detection may be performed during the injection operation, but motor 264 may be stopped only after the injection is completed.

[0223] In either case, when the control device 280 detects a malfunction, it displays information indicating the malfunction on the display device 259. This allows the operator to recognize the abnormality.

[0224] <User Interface> Information obtained from the various detection devices described above that are included in the pharmaceutical injection device 200 can be displayed on the display device 259, and information that prompts the operator to operate the pharmaceutical injection device 200 using the detection devices can be displayed on the display device 259. Below, examples of images that the control device 280 displays on the display device 259 are described.

[0225] FIG. 33 shows an example of the information on the RF tag 16 of the drug cartridge 10 displayed on the display device 259. As shown in FIG. 33, the image 310 includes a first area 310a, a second area 310b, and a third area 310c. The first area 310a displays text information indicating the operation to be instructed to the operator and the status of the drug injection device 200. In the example shown in FIG. 33, the information on the drug stored in the RF tag 16 is displayed, and therefore the word "Information" is displayed. The second area 310b is displayed, for example, in a theme color corresponding to the type of drug. The third area 310c displays specific information about the drug.

[0226] In this embodiment, for example, the drug is XXXXX, and second region 310b is colored blue. Furthermore, third region 310c displays the name of the drug, the dosage per dose, and the remaining amount of drug (number of injections possible) along with an image of drug cartridge 10. The remaining amount of drug may be stored in RF tag 16 or in the memory of drug injection device 200. Displaying an image of drug cartridge 10 together makes it easier for the operator to recognize that the text information relates to drug cartridge 10. The drug information shown in FIG. 33 is displayed, for example, after cassette 100 is loaded and after the injection operation is performed.

[0227] By using the format of image 310 for other operations, the operator can easily recognize what information is displayed where on the screen of display device 259. In this case, it is preferable that second area 310b is displayed in the theme color of the drug in any operation screen. This allows the operator to recognize the type of drug being injected in any operation state.

[0228] 34(a) to 34(c) show example images displayed during the air purging operation using the acceleration sensor 276. FIG. 34(a) shows image 311 prompting the operator to hold the pharmaceutical injection device 200 in an inverted position before the air purging operation. FIG. 34(b) shows image 312 shown just before the air purging operation begins, with the operator holding the pharmaceutical injection device 200 in an inverted position with the tip facing up. In FIG. 34(a), first region 311a is displayed on the display device 259 toward the rear end of the pharmaceutical injection device 200, while in FIG. 34(b), first region 312a is displayed on the display device 259 toward the tip of the pharmaceutical injection device 200. In other words, when the pharmaceutical injection device 200 is held in an inverted position, the control device 280 flips the orientation of image 312 displayed on the display device 259 upside down based on the detection signal from the acceleration sensor 276. By thus matching the orientation of the image 312 displayed on the display device 259 with the position of the pharmaceutical injection device 200, it is possible to present information that is easy for the operator to recognize.

[0229] Thereafter, while the control device 280 is performing the air venting operation, the control device 280 may display an image 313 in which an animation indicating that air venting is being performed is placed in the third area 313c, as shown in Figure 34(c).

[0230] Figures 35(a) and 35(b) are examples of images 314, 315 that prompt the operator to maintain the same state until the operation of pharmaceutical injection device 200 is complete. Because the length of time to wait is not fixed, the wait time is not displayed, and instead an animation is displayed in which figures arranged in a circle flash to give the appearance of moving figures. Displaying an animation in this way allows the operator to recognize that the operation of pharmaceutical injection device 200 is normal.

[0231] Figures 36(a) to 36(f) show examples of images 316 to 321 that prompt the operator to attach needle unit 20 and, after attachment, remove needle case 25. By repeatedly displaying the images shown in Figures 36(a) to 36(f) in sequence until the operator removes needle case 25, the operator can easily understand how to operate the device and how far to proceed with the operation.

[0232] Figures 37(a) to 37(f) show examples of images 322 to 327 that prompt the user to press pharmaceutical injection device 200 against the skin and press injection button 258 during injection. The images in Figures 37(a) to 37(c) are repeatedly displayed until touch sensor 275 detects contact with the skin. If touch sensor 275 subsequently detects contact with the skin, the image in Figure 37(d) prompting the user to press injection button 258 is displayed. While the pharmaceutical is being injected, the images in Figures 37(e) and 37(f) are repeatedly displayed in sequence. If touch sensor 275 detects that the skin is no longer in contact with the skin while the pharmaceutical is being injected, the images in Figures 37(a) to 37(c) may be repeatedly displayed again.

[0233] In this way, with the pharmaceutical injection device 200 of this embodiment, it is possible to provide the operator with easier operability by utilizing information from the first temperature sensor, information from the RF tag 16, and detection signals from the acceleration sensor 276, touch sensor 275, etc.

[0234] (Second embodiment) The pharmaceutical injection device of the present disclosure may be configured to directly store pharmaceutical cartridge 10 without using cassette 100. An embodiment of a pharmaceutical injection system including pharmaceutical injection device 500 that does not use cassette 100 will now be described with reference to the drawings.

[0235] Figures 38A to 38C are front views showing how the drug cartridge 10 is loaded into the drug injection device 500. Figures 39 to 41 are diagrams illustrating how the needle unit 20 is attached to the drug injection device 500 loaded with the drug cartridge, and how a used injection needle 21 is removed from the drug injection device 500. Figure 42 is a diagram illustrating how an injection is performed using the drug injection device 500. The structure and operation of the drug injection device 500 will be explained with reference to these figures.

[0236] Pharmaceutical injection device 500 is not loaded with a cassette 100 containing a pharmaceutical cartridge 10, but rather with the pharmaceutical cartridge 10 loaded directly into it. Furthermore, the pharmaceutical injection system does not include a cassette 100. Apart from this, pharmaceutical injection device 500 has the same structure and functions as pharmaceutical injection device 200 of the first embodiment. That is, pharmaceutical injection device 500 is also equipped with an RF-ID reader 277, piston drive mechanism 220, touch sensor 275, acceleration sensor 276, rotary encoder 265, etc., and is controlled using these as described in the first embodiment, and a user interface is realized using display device 259, just like pharmaceutical injection device 500. For this reason, the following will mainly describe the differences from the first embodiment.

[0237] As shown in FIG. 38A, the pharmaceutical injection device 500 comprises a cartridge holder 204, a hood 140', and an injection needle attachment section 110h'. The pharmaceutical injection device 500 also has a housing space 201c' within the device housing 201' that is capable of storing at least a portion of the drug cartridge 10 when not housed in a cassette. The housing space 201c' is adapted to store a portion of the drug cartridge 10 supported by the cartridge holder 204, which will be described later. The device housing 201' has a holder opening 201j that communicates with the housing space 201c'. This holder opening 201j is a housing opening provided on the side of the device housing 201'. In the pharmaceutical injection device 500, the drug cartridge 10 when not housed in a cassette is supported by the cartridge holder 204 and is loaded through the holder opening 201j.

[0238] The cartridge holder 204 includes a door portion 204c and a holder portion 204d. The door portion 204c has a shape corresponding to the holder opening 201j so that it can close the holder opening 201j. The holder portion 204d has an internal space for supporting the drug cartridge 10. The cartridge holder 204 is rotatably attached to the device housing 201′ so that the door portion 204c can open the holder opening 201j and close the holder opening 201j. As shown in FIG. 38B , when the door portion 204c opens the holder opening 201j, the drug cartridge 10 can be supported by the cartridge holder 204 by inserting the drug cartridge 10 into the holder portion 204d from the first end 11a. The drug cartridge 10 supported by the holder portion 204d can also be pulled out. With the drug cartridge 10 inserted into the holder portion 204d, the cartridge holder 204 is rotated to close the holder opening 201j with the door portion 204c. As shown in Figure 38C, with the door portion 204c closing the holder opening 201j, a portion of the drug cartridge 10 is disposed in the housing space 201c'. Furthermore, the tip portion of the drug cartridge 10, including the first end 11a, is housed within the injection needle mounting portion 110h.

[0239] The injection needle mounting part 110h' has a space therein for storing the tip portion of the medicine cartridge 10, and is arranged so as to cover the housing opening 201d located at the bottom of the device recess 201r of the device housing 201'. The injection needle mounting part 110h' has a structure similar to that of the injection needle mounting part 110h of the cassette 100.

[0240] The hood 140' has a structure similar to that of the hood 140 of the cassette 100 of the first embodiment, except that it does not have the arm portion 141c (shown in FIG. 11). The hood 140' is located in the device recess 201r of the housing 201' and is rotatably attached to the housing 201'. The hood 140' covers the injection needle mounting portion 110h' and can be rotated relative to the device housing 201' in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 38A. Specifically, the hood 140' can be rotated between a first position that covers the injection needle mounting portion 110h' and a second position that exposes the injection needle mounting portion 110h'. With the injection needle mounting portion 110h' exposed from the hood 140', an operator can easily attach the needle unit 20 to the injection needle mounting portion 110h' and remove the needle unit 20 engaged with the injection needle mounting portion 110h'. The needle hiding portion 142 may be at least partially transparent, as described with reference to FIG. 11.

[0241] Next, the operation of attaching the needle unit 20 to the pharmaceutical injection device 500 loaded with the pharmaceutical cartridge 10 and performing an injection will be described. As shown in Figure 39(a), first, the hood 140' is rotated to expose the injection needle mounting portion 110h' from the hood 140'. As shown in Figure 39(b), the needle unit 20 containing the injection needle 21 is attached to the injection needle mounting portion 110h'. Next, as shown in Figure 39(c), the needle case 25 is removed.

[0242] As shown in Figure 40(a), the hood 140' is returned to its original position, and as shown in Figure 40(b), the needle hiding section 142 is pushed down. Next, the needle cap 24 is removed to expose the needle 22 of the injection needle 21. This makes it possible to perform an injection.

[0243] As explained in the first embodiment, when performing an injection, drug injection device 500 is held so that the tip of needle 22 points downward, as shown in Figure 42(a). Needle 22 is covered by hood body 41 and needle concealer 142. In this state, as shown in Figure 42(b), when skin contact surface 201e is brought into contact with skin 510 and drug injection device 500 is pressed further against the skin, needle concealer 142 retracts and needle 22 is inserted into skin 510. Then, injection button 258 is pressed to inject the drug.

[0244] After the injection is completed, when the drug injection device 500 is removed from the skin 510, the needle concealer 142 moves forward to cover the needle 22, as shown in FIG. 42(c).

[0245] After the injection is completed, the needle 22 is covered with the hood 140', and the needle case 25 is placed over the injection needle 21. Next, as shown in Figure 41(a), the hood 140' is rotated, and the needle case 25 is pulled while being rotated, whereby the injection needle 21 is pulled out from the injection needle mounting part 110h' together with the needle case 25, as shown in Figure 41(b).

[0246] By returning the hood 140' to its original position, the injection needle mounting portion 110h' is covered with the hood 140' as shown in Figure 42(d). Thereafter, the cartridge holder 204 is rotated and the medicine cartridge 10 is removed, completing the injection.

[0247] As described above, the pharmaceutical injection device 500 can perform functions similar to those of the first embodiment, such as managing the temperature of the pharmaceutical using the RF-ID reader 277, controlling the motor according to the type of pharmaceutical using the piston drive mechanism 220, determining whether the pharmaceutical is in contact with the skin using the touch sensor 275, controlling the posture of the pharmaceutical injection device 500 using the acceleration sensor 276, and determining whether there is a malfunction using the rotary encoder 265.

[0248] A charger compatible with the pharmaceutical injection device 500 of this embodiment may, for example, have a space that prevents the tip of the pharmaceutical injection device 500 from being inserted when the pharmaceutical injection device 500 is loaded with the pharmaceutical cartridge 10. In this case, although not shown, some mechanism can be added that changes the appearance and shape of the device casing 201' when the pharmaceutical cartridge 10 is attached, preventing it from being attached to the charger. By preventing it from being attached to the charger, deterioration of the pharmaceutical due to heat generated during charging can be avoided.

[0249] Alternatively, the charger may have a space that prevents the insertion of the tip of the pharmaceutical injection device 500 when, for example, the needle unit 20 is attached to the first end 11a of the pharmaceutical cartridge 10. This configuration not only prevents pharmaceutical deterioration due to heat generation during charging, but is also effective in reducing the size of the pharmaceutical injection device and charger and preventing infections and other problems caused by reusing injection needles.

[0250] The pharmaceutical injection device 500 of this embodiment can provide the same ease of use for the operator as described in the first embodiment, without using the cassette 100.

[0251] The pharmaceutical injection device 500 of this embodiment is suitable for use, for example, when the pharmaceutical cartridge 10 contains a single dose of pharmaceutical to be injected into an operator such as a patient. Because used pharmaceutical cartridges 10 are discarded, there is no need to store them in a cool place such as a refrigerator using the cassette 100. This reduces the cost of injections. However, the pharmaceutical cartridge 10 may contain multiple doses of pharmaceutical. In this case, a separate storage case may be prepared and the pharmaceutical cartridge 10 containing the remaining pharmaceutical may be stored in a refrigerator, or the pharmaceutical injection device 500 with the pharmaceutical cartridge 10 attached may be stored in a refrigerator, etc. However, if the pharmaceutical injection device 500 is stored in a cool place, the pharmaceutical injection device 500 itself will also be cooled, making it difficult to perform the reminding operation described in the first embodiment above.

[0252] (Other forms) The above embodiment is one example of the pharmaceutical injection device of the present disclosure, and various modifications are possible. The shapes of the illustrated pharmaceutical cartridge 10, cassette 100, pharmaceutical injection device 200, charger 300, and the components that make them up are merely examples, and other shapes may be used. Pharmaceutical injection device 200 does not need to include all of the various sensors. Furthermore, the injection operation, air vent operation, mixing operation, and other operations that are performed in response to pharmaceutical temperature, which are described with reference to flowcharts, are merely examples, and some steps may be omitted, may be performed in a different order, or may include other steps.

[0253] The time until the medicine reaches the optimum temperature may be predicted based on calculations other than those of formulas (1) to (3), or the time until the medicine reaches the optimum temperature may be calculated directly as a function of elapsed time. Furthermore, the failure determiner 281 may include other functional blocks, or may determine a failure by performing signal processing different from that in the above embodiment. [Industrial Applicability]

[0254] The cassette, drug injection device, and drug injection system of the present disclosure are suitable for use in devices that inject various drugs. [Explanation of symbols]

[0255] 10, 10' drug cartridge 11 cylinders 11' cylinder 11a 1st end 11b 2nd end 11c Cylinder column space 11c1 1st area 11c2 2nd area 11c3 Third area 11d Cylinder opening 11e Bypass space 11h square 11j axis 11t protrusion 12 Cylinder cap 13 Gasket 13A First Gasket 13B Second gasket 14 Drugs 14A Liquid Components 14B Solid component 15 First temperature sensor 16, 16' RF tag 16a Antenna 17 Label 20 needle units 20a tip 20c housing space 20t convex part 21 Syringe needle 22 needles 23 Connection 24 needle cap 25 needle case 31 Charging case 100 cassettes 110 Cassette body 110a tip 110b rear end 110c cassette column space 110e Main body opening 110h, 110h' Syringe needle installation part 130 Cassette Cap 130d Cap opening 140,140' Hood 141 Hood body 141b rear end 141c arm 142 Needle hiding 142c Part 1 142d 2nd part 143 biasing member 200 Drug injection device 200a tip 201 Device housing 201a Tip 201c, 201c' enclosure space 201d Housing opening 201e Skin contact surface 201g charging terminal 201r recess 201t convex part 202 Internal housing 202d Gear Area 202f Piston guide area 202g convex part 202h Cassette area 203 First Guide 204 Cartridge holder 204c Door section 204d Holder part 209 Ejection lever 210 Piston 210a 1st end 210b 2nd end 210h hole 211 Tip 212 Main Unit 213 Drive convex part 214 Female thread 220 Piston drive mechanism 221 Gearbox 222 Drive gear 223 Bearing 230 Piston guide 230g groove 230h hole 231 Guide 235 Drive rod 236 Male thread 251 Control Unit 252 Live parts 253 Secondary battery 254 memory 255 power button 256 selection button 257 Decision button 258 injection button 259 Display device 260 Buzzer 261 Clock 262 Communications Department 263 Motor Driver 264 Motor 265 rotary encoder 266 Encoder Plate 266N Normal blade part 266Nc notch 266Nf Feather 266S Standard blade part 266Sc cutout 266Sf Feather 267 Pulse Encoder 267c Light-emitting element 267d Photodetector 270C Transmitting and receiving circuit 271 Piston origin detector 272 Cassette Load Detector 273 Second temperature sensor 274 Ejection lever detector 275 Touch Sensor 276 Accelerometer 277 RF-ID Reader 278 Antenna 278A Part 1 278B 2nd part 279 Transmitting and receiving circuit 280 Control Device 281 Failure determiner 282 Blade Information Acquisition Unit 283 Breakage detection unit 284 Speed ​​stability determination section 285 Reference blade detection unit 286 Blade number detection unit 287 Detector 290 mainboard 291 Subboard 1 292 Second Subboard 300 charger 301 Charging case 301d Rib 301e supply terminal 301r Charger recess 301s Step 301u space 310 images 310a, 311a, 312a 1st area 310b 2nd area 310c 3rd area Images 311, 312, and 313 400 Drug Injection System

Claims

1. A cassette that stores a drug cartridge and is loaded into a drug injection device, a cassette main body having a cassette columnar space capable of accommodating at least a portion of a medicine cartridge, an injection needle attachment portion located at a tip end of the cassette columnar space and capable of attaching and detaching an injection needle, and a main body opening located at a rear end of the cassette columnar space and allowing access to the cassette columnar space; a cassette cap supported near the rear end of the cassette body so as to be able to open and close the body opening; a hood including: a hood body supported on the cassette body so as to be rotatable between a first position that covers the injection needle mounting portion of the cassette body and a second position that exposes the injection needle mounting portion; a needle hider supported on the hood body so as to be movably moved between a protruding position that protrudes from the hood body and a retracted position that at least a portion of the needle hider is retracted in the hood body; and a biasing member that biases the needle hider toward the protruding position; Equipped with When the hood is in the first position, the tip of the injection needle is located within a space surrounded by the needle hider at the protruding position of the needle hider, and the injection needle protrudes from the tip of the needle hider at the stored position of the needle hider. cassette.

2. The cassette of claim 1 , wherein a portion of the needle concealment is transparent.

3. 3. The cassette of claim 2, wherein the needle concealer includes a transparent first portion and a translucent second portion.

4. The cassette according to claim 1 , wherein the needle hiding portion has a substantially U-shape in cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.

5. 5. A cassette according to claim 1, wherein the hood has an arm portion connected to the hood body and extending on the opposite side of the hood body relative to a pivot point that is rotatably supported between the first position and the second position.

6. A pharmaceutical injection device into which the cassette according to any one of claims 1 to 5 can be loaded, a device housing having a housing space for accommodating at least a portion of the cassette accommodating the drug cartridge, and a housing opening communicating with the housing space; a piston supported movably within the housing space; a motor that drives the piston; a motor driver that generates a drive signal for driving the motor; a display device that outputs information about the injection operation; a control device that controls the motor driver and the display device, A drug injection device in which the device housing has a tip portion including a convex portion extending in the longitudinal direction, a skin contact surface located on the upper surface of the convex portion, and a device recess adjacent to the skin contact surface and in which the housing opening is located at the bottom.

7. A cassette according to any one of claims 1 to 5; The pharmaceutical injection device according to claim 6 . A drug injection system comprising:

8. The pharmaceutical injection system of claim 7, wherein when the cassette is loaded into the housing space of the pharmaceutical injection device, a portion of the hood of the cassette is exposed to the outside in a recess in the device housing, and another portion of the hood is located within the device housing, thereby preventing the hood from rotating.

9. The pharmaceutical injection device A secondary battery; a charging terminal provided on the device housing; Equipped with further comprising a charger including a power supply circuit for charging the secondary battery of the pharmaceutical injection device and a charger housing that houses the power supply circuit; the charger housing includes: a charger recess having a space into which the tip end of the pharmaceutical injection device can be inserted; a step provided at the bottom of the charger recess and having a shape corresponding to the device recess of the pharmaceutical injection device; and a supply terminal located within the charger recess and connected to the power supply circuit; 8. The pharmaceutical injection system of claim 7, wherein the charger housing is capable of storing the tip of the pharmaceutical injection device within the charger recess so that the charging terminal of the pharmaceutical injection device contacts the supply terminal when the cassette is not loaded into the pharmaceutical injection device, and when the cassette is loaded into the pharmaceutical injection device, the cassette interferes with the step in the charger housing, making it impossible to store the tip of the pharmaceutical injection device within the charger recess.

10. a device housing having a housing space for accommodating at least a portion of the medicine cartridge that is not accommodated in the cassette, and a housing opening communicating with the housing space; a piston supported movably within the housing space; a motor that drives the piston; a motor driver that generates a drive signal for driving the motor; a display device that outputs information about the injection operation; a control device that controls the motor driver and the display device, the device housing comprises a protrusion extending in the longitudinal direction, a skin contact surface located on the upper surface of the protrusion, a device recess adjacent to the skin contact surface and having the housing opening located at its bottom, and a tip portion including an injection needle attachment portion covering the housing opening and having an internal space into which the tip of the medicine cartridge is inserted, The housing space accommodates at least a portion of the medicine cartridge that is not housed in the cassette. It is adapted to accommodate a hood that is located in the device recess and is rotatably attached to the device housing, the hood including a hood body, a needle hider that is supported movably with respect to the hood body, and a biasing member that biases the needle hider toward a protruding position protruding from the hood body, the hood is rotatable between a first position that covers the injection needle mounting portion and a second position that exposes the injection needle mounting portion; When the hood is in the first position, at the protruding position of the needle concealer, the tip of the injection needle attached to the injection needle attachment part is covered by the hood body and the needle concealer, and at the stored position where at least a part of the needle concealer is stored in the hood body, the injection needle protrudes from the tip of the needle concealer. Drug injection device.

11. The medication injection device according to claim 10, wherein a portion of the needle concealer is transparent.

12. The medication injection device of claim 11 , wherein the needle concealer includes a transparent first portion and a translucent second portion.

13. The pharmaceutical injection device according to claim 10 , wherein the needle concealer has a substantially U-shape in cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.

Images