Multiple Allergen Skin Test Applicator with Scratching Barbs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for administering multiple allergens during skin tests often involve needle pricks, which can be uncomfortable and prone to cross-contamination, with challenges in minimizing patient discomfort, reducing false positives, and simplifying the testing process while being cost-effective and easy to use and manufacture.
Innovation Solution
A multiple skin test system featuring a test applicator with scratching barbs that can be loaded with allergens and applied to the skin in a controlled manner, allowing for simultaneous testing of multiple allergens with minimal discomfort and reduced risk of contamination, using a two-stage process of allergen loading and deposition, and designed for one-handed operation by a medical technician.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If needle pricks are used to administer multiple allergens, then allergen delivery is effective, but patient discomfort increases and cross-contamination risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The applicator is divided into multiple independent testing positions, each with its own allergen reservoir and delivery mechanism. This segmentation allows each allergen to be delivered through separate pathways, eliminating cross-contamination while maintaining effective delivery to multiple skin sites simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism (the applicator device with controlled release system) between the allergen reservoir and the skin. This intermediary controls the release and delivery of each allergen, ensuring effective delivery while preventing direct contact and potential cross-contamination between different allergen pathways.
2Reliability
If multiple allergens are tested sequentially, then cross-contamination is minimized, but testing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple allergen testing functions into a single applicator device that can deliver multiple allergens simultaneously. By merging the testing of multiple allergens into one application event rather than sequential procedures, the system maintains test accuracy through physical separation of allergen pathways while dramatically reducing the time required.
Solution Approach 2:
The applicator enables continuous testing by delivering multiple allergens in a single uninterrupted action. The device maintains all allergen reservoirs and delivery mechanisms ready and connected, allowing simultaneous delivery without interruption or repositioning, thus eliminating the time loss associated with sequential testing while maintaining reliability through controlled delivery.
3Ease of operation
If a simple scratch testing method is used, then patient discomfort is minimized, but cross-contamination risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The applicator uses segmented, separate delivery pathways for each allergen, with individual reservoirs and release mechanisms. This segmentation allows the use of gentle scratch testing (minimizing discomfort) while preventing cross-contamination through physical isolation of each allergen's delivery route.
Solution Approach 2:
Each testing position on the applicator is designed with local quality specific to its assigned allergen, including dedicated reservoirs, release mechanisms, and skin contact points. This localized design ensures that the gentle scratch action at each position delivers only its specific allergen, maintaining patient comfort while preventing cross-contamination through spatial and functional differentiation.
Data Source
AI summary
The method for administering a plurality of allergens into the skin of a patient uses a multiple test applicator in cooperative engagement with a fluid tray. The applicator has a plurality of scratching barbs each aligned with a plurality of reservoirs in the fluid tray. The method deploys allergen loading followed by allergen deposition. During allergen loading, a different allergen is loaded onto each respective scratching barb from each respective reservoir. Each scratching barb is designed to retain a trace amount of allergen. The applicator fits into one hand of a medical technician administering the skin test. The applicator is removed from the fluid tray and repositioned onto the skin of the patient for allergen deposition. Then, each scratching barb pierces the outer layer of the skin at each respective test site as a trace amount of each respective allergen seeps into each respective test site from each scratching barb.