Medication Delivery Dose Sensing with Axial and Rotational Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medication delivery devices face challenges in accurately determining the amount of medication set and delivered, which is crucial for patient health, as they often rely on mechanical systems that may not provide reliable measurements of relative member movements.
Innovation Solution
A sensing system is implemented in medication delivery devices that includes a dose dial, barrel, and drive sleeve, utilizing axial and rotational sensor systems to detect the positions of these components, correlating their movements with the set and delivered dose amounts, and a controller to determine the accurate dose quantities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If mechanical systems are used to measure relative movement of members, then the device structure is simple, but the measurement precision and reliability of dose amount are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical measurement systems with sensor-based detection systems. Sensors are integrated to detect axial and rotational positions of the dose dial and drive mechanism, converting mechanical movements into electrical signals for precise digital measurement of dose set and dose delivered, thereby achieving high measurement precision without excessive mechanical complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces sensors as intermediary elements between the mechanical components (dose dial, barrel, drive mechanism) and the control system. These sensors act as mediators that detect positional information and transmit it to the controller, enabling accurate dose measurement while maintaining a relatively simple mechanical structure
2Reliability
If multiple sensor systems are integrated to detect axial and rotational positions, then the reliability of dose determination is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements sensor systems that serve multiple functions: detecting axial position, detecting rotational position, and providing data for both dose set and dose delivered measurements. This multi-functionality allows reliable dose determination through integrated sensing without proportionally increasing device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines axial position detection and rotational position detection into a unified sensor system architecture. The sensors are integrated with the control mechanism to simultaneously monitor multiple parameters, achieving high reliability through combined measurement rather than separate independent systems
Data Source
AI summary
Medication delivery devices, sensing systems, and methods are disclosed for determining the relative axial and rotational movements of its members to determine the amount of a dose set and/or delivered by the medication delivery device. A sensing system comprises a barrel sensor system, a drive sleeve sensor system, and/or an axial sensor system. The barrel sensor system is for detecting the absolute relative angular position of the barrel relative to the housing during dose setting. The drive sleeve sensor system is for detecting the absolute relative angular position of the drive sleeve relative to the housing during dose delivery. The axial sensor system is for detecting the relative axial positions of the dose dial relative to the housing during dose setting and delivery. A controller receives outputs from the sensor systems corresponding to the absolute relative positions to determine the actual amounts of dose set and delivered.