Autoinjector Skin-Sensor Mechanism for Reliable Medicament Delivery
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing autoinjectors can be unreliable, with needle guards or skin sensors deploying improperly, leading to potential medicament administration failures, especially in life-threatening situations where urgent medicament delivery is required.
Innovation Solution
A delivery device with a housing containing a container and plunger, a rotatable carriage, and a skin sensor mechanism, where the skin sensor is compressed to rotate the carriage, engaging a resilient member to inject the medicament, and a needle shield that retracts after use to prevent needlestick injuries.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a needle guard or skin sensor is added to the autoinjector to improve safety, then needlestick injuries are reduced, but the device complexity increases and reliability decreases due to potential malfunction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the skin sensor component from the autoinjector system, extracting the source of potential malfunction while preserving the needle protection function through a simplified mechanical needle guard mechanism that operates without electronic or sensor components
Solution Approach 2:
The device is segmented into distinct functional components: a needle guard for protection, a plunger mechanism for medication delivery, and a trigger system for activation. This segmentation allows the needle guard to function independently without the complexity of integrated sensors, improving reliability while maintaining safety
2Measurement precision
If a skin sensor mechanism is integrated into the autoinjector to detect injection site, then injection accuracy is improved, but the device complexity increases and may cause jamming
Solution Approach 1:
The skin sensor mechanism is completely removed from the device. Instead, the user manually positions the needle guard against the injection site, eliminating complex sensor deployment mechanisms while maintaining the ability to target the correct injection location through simple mechanical means
3Ease of operation
If a cap is removed to activate the skin sensor, then the injection process is initiated, but the risk of improper deployment increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cap mechanism is removed entirely from the system. The autoinjector is activated by directly pressing the trigger, which simultaneously advances the needle and releases the plunger. This eliminates the intermediate step of cap removal that could lead to improper sensor deployment, simplifying the activation process while maintaining reliability
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
Ensures reliable and safe medicament delivery, even by untrained personnel, with accurate injection and protection against needle injuries, enhancing patient safety and compliance.
Implementation Method 1
The distal end of the plunger is configured to engage an energy storage member and move the stopper within the container to inject the medicament from the container and out of the needle. The energy storage member can be a first and/or a second resilient member. In some aspects, the first resilient member can be a spring.
Data Source
AI summary
A device for injecting a medicament is provided. The device has a housing with a container within it which can hold a medicament. At its proximal end the container has a needle and a stopper. The device includes a plunger which at one end can engage the stopper. At the opposite end, the plunger can engage a first resilient member to move the stopper within the container to inject the medicament from the container. The device includes a collar with distal and proximal ends, the distal end engaging with a carriage and causing its rotation and the proximal end engaging with a second resilient member. The second resilient member can engage with a skin sensor which has distal and proximal ends. At the proximal end, the skin sensor can contact an injection site. The housing has a cap which can reduce or prevent movement of the skin sensor.