Drug Delivery Device Temperature Sensor Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current drug delivery systems lack feedback to patients on the optimal temperature and viscosity of medications, leading to potential discomfort and inefficiencies in injection processes, as patients are often instructed to wait without confirmation that the drug has reached a suitable state for administration.
Innovation Solution
A drug delivery device equipped with a temperature sensor and output device that measures and indicates when the drug has reached an optimal temperature/viscosity for injection, using a contactless infrared sensor and user interface to provide visual and audio feedback, ensuring the drug is ready for use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If patients wait for a predetermined time after removing the drug from refrigeration, then the drug viscosity reduces and injection discomfort decreases, but the patient receives no feedback confirmation that the drug has reached the desired temperature and is ready for injection
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism by equipping the drug delivery device with a temperature sensor that continuously monitors the drug temperature and provides real-time feedback to the patient through a user interface. This resolves the information loss by confirming when the drug has reached the optimal temperature range for injection, eliminating the guesswork associated with predetermined waiting periods.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/time-based waiting period approach with an electronic sensing and feedback system. Instead of relying on a predetermined time delay after refrigeration, the system uses temperature sensors and electronic processing to automatically determine and communicate the drug's readiness for injection.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the drug temperature is not monitored, then the device complexity remains low, but the injection discomfort and inefficiency increase due to unknown drug viscosity
Solution Approach 1:
By implementing temperature monitoring with feedback to the user, the system directly addresses injection discomfort by ensuring the drug is at the optimal temperature before administration. The feedback loop provides confidence to the patient that the drug viscosity is appropriate, reducing anxiety and discomfort.
Solution Approach 2:
The temperature sensor and control system automatically monitor and assess drug temperature without requiring manual intervention from the patient. The system self-evaluates whether the drug is ready for injection and communicates this status, reducing the operational burden on the patient despite the added device complexity.
3Productivity
If patients are instructed to wait without temperature confirmation, then the device complexity remains simple, but the productivity decreases due to extended wait times and uncertainty
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces passive time-based waiting with active temperature-based determination. The electronic sensing system continuously monitors drug temperature and automatically determines readiness, eliminating the need for predetermined waiting periods and improving drug delivery efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The real-time temperature feedback enables patients to understand when the drug is ready for injection, eliminating unnecessary waiting time and improving overall productivity of the drug delivery process.
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
This solution reduces injection discomfort and minimizes wait times by ensuring the drug reaches the optimal viscosity, enhancing the patient experience and ensuring reliable drug delivery.
Implementation Method 1
In one form, the temperature sensor is an infrared sensor that is configured to contactlessly measure the temperature of the drug in the reservoir
Data Source
AI summary
A drug delivery device and related method of operation of a drug delivery device is described that includes a housing, a reservoir removably disposed within the housing and having a sidewall defining an interior for containing a drug, a temperature sensor that is configured to measure a current temperature relating to at least one of the reservoir, the sidewall of the reservoir, the housing, or the drug, and an output device that is configured to output data relating to the current temperature.