Low Profile Auto-Injector with Rotating Needle and Telescoping Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automatic injection devices are not suitable for use under time pressure or in unsuitable surroundings, particularly by unskilled persons, and may lead to errors during medicament delivery due to complexity and lack of intuitive operation.
Innovation Solution
An auto-injector with a low-profile, cylindrical design that telescopes from a compact storage configuration to a primed configuration, featuring a rotating injection needle and elastic energy storage for automatic needle extension, allowing hand-free operation and preventing premature removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the injection device is designed with a compact low-profile storage configuration, then the device can be worn inconspicuously and carried easily, but the device cannot maintain proper needle orientation for injection without complex mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The injection needle is designed to rotate dynamically from a horizontal storage orientation to a vertical injection orientation. The needle carrier rotates the needle approximately 90 degrees when transitioning from storage to injection mode, allowing the device to maintain a compact profile during storage while achieving proper needle orientation for injection without requiring complex external positioning mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
The device transitions the needle from a horizontal arrangement in storage configuration to a vertical arrangement in injection configuration. This dimensional change allows the needle to project perpendicularly from the contact surface during injection while maintaining a low-profile horizontal layout during storage, effectively using spatial reconfiguration to resolve the orientation problem
2Ease of operation
If the device allows manual operation, then the user has control over the injection process, but unskilled persons may make errors during injection under time pressure
Solution Approach 1:
The device is designed as an automatic injection system that performs the injection process without requiring manual manipulation during the critical injection phase. Once activated by simple contact with the skin, the device automatically positions the needle, penetrates the skin, and delivers the medicament without requiring the user to perform complex manual operations, thereby ensuring reliable and error-free injection even by unskilled persons
Solution Approach 2:
The device pre-positions all injection components (needle, medicament reservoir, actuation mechanism) in a ready state during storage. The simple activation step of contacting the skin with the contact surface triggers the pre-programmed injection sequence, eliminating the need for the user to perform multiple manual steps and reducing the risk of user error under time pressure
3Productivity
If the needle remains extended after injection, then the full dose can be administered, but the device may be prematurely removed before complete delivery
Solution Approach 1:
The device incorporates a prevention mechanism that actively counteracts premature removal. The needle carrier and housing are designed with mechanical interlocking features that prevent the device from being pulled away from the injection site before the injection cycle is complete. The needle remains constrained in its extended position throughout the medicament delivery process, and only retracts after the full dose has been administered
Solution Approach 2:
The device includes visual or tactile indicators that provide feedback to the user about the injection progress. These indicators show when the injection is in progress and when it is complete, guiding the user to maintain contact with the device until the full dose is delivered. The feedback mechanism ensures that the user understands when it is safe to remove the device, preventing premature removal and ensuring complete dose administration
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
Facilitates intuitive and error-free medicament delivery, even by untrained individuals, ensuring proper injection depth and preventing over-administration by maintaining needle alignment until the full dose is administered.
Implementation Method 1
an elastic energy storage device connected to the priming mechanism and wherein stored energy in the elastic energy storage device drives an increasing of the height of the injector between the storage configuration and the primed configuration
Implementation Method 2
an elastic forcing member connected to the injection needle and wherein the elastic forcing member applies a force pushing a tip of the injection needle towards the contact surface in the primed configuration
Data Source
AI summary
Some embodiments of a low profile intramuscular auto-injector optionally comprise a contact surface contoured to fit a body surface. Optionally a height of the injector is less than ¼ a perimeter of the contact surface. Optionally a cover protects said contact surface. Optionally the device includes a priming mechanism coupled to the cover wherein removal of the cover activates the priming mechanism for priming the injector and/or increasing a height of the injector. Optionally the injector includes a cylindrical pharmaceutical reservoir rigidly attached to an injection needle. Optionally in a compact storage state the injection needle is at a low angle to the contact surface. Optionally during priming the needle and/or reservoir rotate to orient the needle at a higher angle to the contact surface.