Active Injection Guide With Contact-Force Seating Verification

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Needle-free injectors face challenges in ensuring proper positioning and contact force during injection, leading to potential ejection of injectate into unintended targets or improper depth delivery.

Innovation Solution

An active injection guide that monitors surface contact and instantaneous contact force along the injection axis to ensure proper seating of the injector before initiating an injection, using sensors to detect alignment and force, ensuring the injector head is correctly positioned and angled at 90° relative to the skin surface.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If conventional injector systems allow ejection regardless of proper seating, then injection can be performed quickly without position verification, but injectate may be ejected into unintended targets such as air or patient's eye

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinjection speedVSAvoidaccidental ejection into unintended targets

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary verification of proper seating position and contact force before allowing injection to occur. Sensors detect whether the injector head is correctly positioned on the target injection surface and whether sufficient force is applied, preventing injection until these conditions are met. This preliminary check eliminates the risk of accidental ejection while maintaining quick injection delivery.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Device complexity

If injector head seating is not verified, then the injection process is simpler and faster, but the injectate may not be delivered to proper depth into target tissue region

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveseating verification systemVSAvoiddelivery of full dose into target tissue

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system uses sensors to detect whether the injector head is properly seated on the target injection surface and whether the required contact force is applied. This feedback information is used to control the injection process, ensuring that injection only occurs when proper seating is confirmed. The feedback mechanism reliably verifies correct positioning and force application, ensuring accurate delivery of the full dose into the target tissue region.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

3Ease of manufacture

If the injector does not monitor contact force, then the device is simpler to manufacture and operate, but the injection angle and depth cannot be controlled accurately

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesensor system implementationVSAvoidinjection angle and depth control

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system replaces manual mechanical positioning and force application with sensor-based detection and control. Load sensors electronically measure the contact force between the injector head and target surface, substituting for purely mechanical force application methods. This electronic sensing approach enables precise control of injection angle and depth while maintaining ease of manufacture through integrated sensor systems.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Data Source

PatentUS20250303069A1Active injection guide

Publication Date: 2025.10.02 PORTAL INSTRUMENTS INC

AI summary

An active injection guide concurrently monitors surface contact and an instantaneous contact force along an injection axis of an injector in order to ensure that the injector is properly positioned on a patient before an injection can be initiated