Allergen Supply Tray With Pliable Cap Dispensing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current allergen delivery systems often result in waste due to inefficiencies in dispensing small amounts of expensive allergens, evaporation, and cross-contamination, as they do not allow for precise dosing and proper containment.
Innovation Solution
An allergen delivery system featuring a tray with an allergen dispensing well, conduit, and reservoir, where a pliable cap creates pressure to dispense a controlled amount of allergen into a wettable material, and a barb guide ensures precise delivery, with indicators to prevent cross-contamination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If traditional allergen delivery systems are used, then allergen can be delivered to patients, but significant waste occurs due to inability to dispense small amounts precisely, evaporation, and spillage
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the allergen delivery process into distinct functional segments: a sealed reservoir for storage, a controlled dispensing mechanism with plunger and nozzle for precise delivery, and a tray with individual wells for each allergen. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function efficiently, preventing waste while maintaining manageable complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediate components between the allergen source and the patient: a plunger mechanism that controls dispensing, a nozzle for precise delivery, and a wettable material that transfers allergen to the delivery barb. These intermediaries enable precise control of small allergen amounts and prevent direct handling issues that cause waste.
2Ease of operation
If allergen is stored in open containers for easy access, then dispensing is simplified, but evaporation and cross-contamination occur
Solution Approach 1:
The reservoir is sealed with a flexible membrane that allows controlled interaction with the plunger mechanism while maintaining hermetic sealing. This flexible seal prevents evaporation and cross-contamination during storage, yet enables easy access during dispensing by simply pushing the plunger, resolving the contradiction between sealed storage and easy access.
Solution Approach 2:
The system extracts the allergen from the sealed reservoir environment only when needed, delivering it through a controlled pathway to the delivery barb. This extraction approach allows the allergen to remain protected in the sealed reservoir during storage and handling, eliminating evaporation and cross-contamination risks while maintaining ease of operation through on-demand dispensing.
3Productivity
If multiple allergens are handled in the same system, then efficiency increases, but cross-contamination risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
Each allergen is assigned its own sealed reservoir and dedicated dispensing pathway within the tray system. The tray contains multiple independent wells, each with its own reservoir-plunger-nozzle assembly. This segmentation allows efficient handling of multiple allergens in parallel while completely preventing cross-contamination, as each allergen remains isolated in its own sealed system until delivery.
Solution Approach 2:
Each allergen reservoir is a self-contained unit with its own sealing and dispensing mechanism. The flexible membrane seal and plunger mechanism work automatically within each compartment without requiring external intervention that could cause cross-contamination. This self-service design enables efficient multi-allergen handling while maintaining reliability through inherent isolation of each allergen stream.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Reduces waste and contamination by allowing precise allergen dosing and delivery, while preventing evaporation and ensuring correct allergen usage through the use of a controlled dispensing mechanism and clear indicators.
Implementation Method 1
the depression of the cap creates a pressure within the allergen reservoir, which pressure motivates a desired amount of the liquid allergen to flow out from the allergen reservoir through the allergen conduit
Implementation Method 2
the liquid allergen to flow out from the allergen reservoir through the allergen conduit and into the allergen dispensing well, to be absorbed by the wettable material
Data Source
AI summary
A method for delivering a liquid allergen to a patient, by dispensing an amount of the liquid allergen into an allergen reservoir. A pliable cap is placed on the allergen reservoir, where the pliable cap has a hole formed therein. The pliable cap is depressed with a finger that is disposed over the hole, thereby motivating a desired amount of the liquid allergen to flow out from the allergen reservoir and into an allergen dispensing well, where the liquid allergen is absorbed by a wettable material. An allergen delivery barb is pressed into the wettable material, so as to receive a dosage of the liquid allergen. The patient is scratched with the allergen delivery barb.