Automated Luer-Lock Threading for Secure Medical Fluid Connections
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical fluid connection devices, particularly those using Luer lock connections, require manual operation and can cause mechanical stress on patients, risking vessel damage during cannulation and potentially leading to life-threatening leaks if connections are not securely established.
Innovation Solution
A device with a first and second receiving device that can rotate and translate relative to a common screwing axis, allowing for automated and secure connection or disconnection of medical threaded connections, enabling easy insertion of connecting elements in a radial direction and featuring exchangeable inserts for versatility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual operation is used for Luer lock connections, then ease of operation is maintained, but reliability of secure connection is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The device enables self-service by automatically performing the connection and disconnection operations without requiring manual manipulation. The automated system inserts, secures, and removes connecting elements through programmed mechanical actions, eliminating the need for operator intervention while ensuring consistent, secure connections.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical system with an automated mechanical system. The device uses programmed mechanical actuators to perform insertion, threading, and securing operations that previously required manual hand operations, thereby improving connection reliability through precise, repeatable mechanical actions.
2Productivity
If automated connection device is implemented, then productivity is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The device achieves multi-functionality by integrating multiple operations into a single automated system. It can insert connecting elements, perform threading operations, secure connections, and disconnect components using a unified automated mechanism, thereby improving productivity without proportionally increasing overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The automated device is segmented into functional modules: an insertion mechanism for radial insertion, a threading mechanism for screwing operations, and a securing mechanism for locking connections. This modular segmentation allows each subsystem to be optimized independently while working together to achieve high productivity.
3Ease of operation
If radial insertion is enabled, then ease of operation is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The device introduces an intermediary alignment mechanism that facilitates radial insertion. The alignment features act as mediators between the connecting element and the receiving device, automatically guiding the element into the correct radial position and reducing the precision requirements for manual alignment while maintaining high insertion ease.
Data Source
Figure 1a~1c
Figure 2a~3c
Figure 4~5
AI summary
The invention relates to an apparatus (100) for establishing and/or releasing a medical threaded connection through which a fluid can flow, made of a first connecting element (1) and a second connecting element (6), in particular for establishing and/or releasing a Luer-lock connection, wherein the apparatus (100) has a first receiving device (20) for receiving the first connecting element (1) and a second receiving device (30) for receiving the second connecting element (6), wherein the first receiving device (20) and the second receiving device (30) are rotatable relative to one another about a common screwing axis (V) and displaceable relative to one another along the screwing axis (V), wherein the apparatus (100) is configured to move the first receiving device (20) and the second receiving device (30) relative to one another in such a way that the first connecting element (1) and the second connecting element (6) are screwed into one another or the threaded connection is released, and wherein the associated connecting element (1, 6) is insertable into the first receiving device (20) and/or into the second receiving device (30) in the radial direction (R) in relation to the screwing axis (V). Further, the invention relates to a corresponding method.