Drug Cartridge Bung with Electronic Coding Feature
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current drug delivery devices lack effective mechanisms for accurately identifying and distinguishing between different medicinal products in cartridges, leading to potential mix-ups and safety concerns during self-administration.
Innovation Solution
A bung for drug-containing cartridges featuring both electronic and mechanical coding features, where the bung comprises a first material for sealing and a second material with lower compressibility forming a rigid core, allowing for secure storage and identification of the cartridge content, and only compatible cartridges can be mounted to the drug delivery device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If an electronic coding feature is integrated into the bung, then identification accuracy and safety are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines electronic coding features with the existing bung structure, integrating identification functionality into the sealing component. The electronic coding feature is embedded within the bung body, merging multiple functions (sealing and identification) into a single component, thereby improving identification accuracy without proportionally increasing overall device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The bung is designed to serve multiple purposes: it provides sealing functionality while simultaneously carrying electronic coding features for identification. This multi-functional design allows the same component to fulfill both mechanical and information-carrying roles, improving safety and identification accuracy without requiring separate dedicated components
2Stability of the object's composition
If a rigid core with lower compressibility is added to the bung, then structural stability and coding feature protection are improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bung incorporates a composite structure with a rigid core material that has lower compressibility, surrounded by or integrated with the main bung material. This composite design provides enhanced structural stability and protects the embedded electronic coding feature while maintaining manufacturability through established composite manufacturing techniques
3Reliability
If mechanical coding features are added to the bung, then cartridge compatibility and safety are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates mechanical coding features directly into the bung structure, combining compatibility verification functionality with the sealing component. The mechanical coding features (such as protrusions, grooves, or geometric patterns) are formed as part of the bung itself, enabling cartridge-device compatibility checking without requiring separate mechanical verification components
Solution Approach 2:
The bung is designed to simultaneously provide sealing, electronic identification, and mechanical compatibility verification functions. By embedding multiple coding systems (electronic and mechanical) within the same component, the design achieves multi-functionalality that improves reliability and safety without proportionally increasing overall device complexity
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a bung (20), to a drug containing cartridge (10) and to a drug delivery device, wherein the bung (20) comprises a coding feature (28) for carrying information regarding at least one of the cartridge (10) and the content of the cartridge (10). Furthermore, it relates to a method for identifying a cartridge (10) containing a medicinal product.