Portable Auto-Injector with Segmented Dry-Liquid Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Auto-injectors are often bulky and have limited shelf-life due to storage requirements, making them inconvenient to carry and increasing the risk of expired medications during emergencies, as they typically store both wet and dry components together, which can lead to decomposition and reduced effectiveness.
Innovation Solution
A portable auto-injector design with separate chambers for dry and wet medicaments, utilizing a mechanism to mix components just before use, incorporating a pre-stored energy source for actuation and a delivery assembly that ensures proper mixing and injection, allowing for storage in a compact form and extending the shelf-life by keeping the medication in a dry state.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of stationary object
If both wet and dry components are stored together in conventional auto-injectors, then the device structure is simple, but the medication decomposes and shelf-life is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into separate compartments: a first compartment for storing the dry medicament and a second compartment for storing the liquid carrier, preventing premature mixing and extending shelf-life while maintaining a relatively simple overall device structure
Solution Approach 2:
The dry and wet components are extracted from a single storage space and placed in separate compartments, eliminating the decomposition problem that occurs when they are stored together in conventional auto-injectors
2Volume of moving object
If the auto-injector is made compact for portability, then it is easier to carry, but the mixing and delivery mechanism becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The first compartment containing the dry medicament is positioned within or adjacent to the second compartment containing the liquid carrier, allowing compact nesting of functional elements while maintaining separate storage until actuation
Solution Approach 2:
The device transitions from a static compact storage state to a dynamic mixing and delivery state through actuation, where the compartments are selectively opened and contents are mixed and expelled through a delivery mechanism
3Ease of operation
If the medication is stored in wet state for immediate use, then it is ready for injection, but it expires faster and loses potency
Solution Approach 1:
Both the dry medicament and liquid carrier are prepared and stored separately in advance in their respective compartments, allowing the device to be ready for injection at any time while maintaining medication stability through separate storage
Solution Approach 2:
The physical state and location of the medicament components are changed from mixed/wet storage to separate/dry storage, fundamentally altering the storage parameters to extend shelf-life while maintaining readiness for injection upon actuation
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
The solution enhances the portability and usability of auto-injectors by maintaining medication potency and effectiveness, reducing the need for frequent replacements and ensuring the device is functional during emergencies, while also minimizing the risk of premature expiration.
Implementation Method 1
incorporating a pre-stored energy source for actuation
Data Source
AI summary
A portable auto-injector configured to store a dry medication separately from a liquid component, wherein removal of a cap operates a first actuation mechanism which opens a valve between a first and second chamber that are slidably movable relative to each other and thus allows for the initiation of a mixing step prior to injection. An extendable needle guard is provided over the delivery assembly which prevents premature injection as well as inadvertent sticks or other cross contamination of a needle. The needle guard can also form part of a secondary trigger mechanism which injects the mixed components after the mixing stage is complete.