Dual Chamber Gear Pump Assembly for High Pressure Drug Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current drug delivery systems face challenges in delivering medications intradermally due to high backpressures, requiring excessive force, leading to potential leakage and dose inaccuracies, especially when using standard length needles and multi-use vials.
Innovation Solution
A high pressure drug delivery system that separates dose setting mechanisms from the high pressure associated with drug delivery, utilizing a valving system with check valves and a gear pump assembly to manage pressure and prevent backflow, allowing for controlled and accurate injection with microneedles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If standard length needles and multi-use vials are used for intradermal injection, then the device structure is simple, but high backpressures cause excessive force requirements, leakage, and dose inaccuracies
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the drug delivery function into two separate chambers: a first chamber (multi-use vial) for drug storage and a second chamber (syringe) for actual injection. This segmentation isolates the high backpressure of intradermal injection to only the second chamber, protecting the first chamber from pressure-related dosing errors while maintaining simple operation
Solution Approach 2:
A valving system with check valves acts as an intermediary between the first chamber and second chamber. The valves control unidirectional flow, allowing drug transfer from the first to second chamber while preventing backflow, thus enabling accurate dosing in the first chamber despite high pressures in the second chamber
2Measurement precision
If high pressure is applied to deliver medication intradermally, then delivery accuracy is improved, but medication leakage occurs and excessive force is required
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the drug storage chamber from the injection chamber, the system confines high pressure conditions to only the injection chamber. This allows high pressure to be applied for accurate intradermal delivery without subjecting the drug storage to the same conditions, preventing leakage and excessive force requirements in the storage portion
Solution Approach 2:
The harmful high pressure conditions are extracted from the drug storage environment and isolated to only the injection chamber. The valving system removes the connection between high pressure and the first chamber, eliminating the source of leakage and excessive force while preserving delivery accuracy in the second chamber
3Reliability
If a dual chamber system with valving is used, then pressure control and dose accuracy are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses standard, commercially available components (multi-use vials, syringes, check valves) that already have established manufacturing and operational protocols. This multi-functionality approach allows the dual-chamber system to achieve improved dose accuracy while avoiding the complexity of designing entirely new specialized components
Solution Approach 2:
The check valves in the valving system automatically control flow direction based on pressure differentials without requiring external control mechanisms. This self-service capability simplifies the overall system structure by eliminating the need for complex actuation systems while maintaining reliable dose accuracy
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
Enables controlled and accurate delivery of medications at high pressures without excessive force, reducing leakage and dose inaccuracies, and allowing for the use of multi-dose vials with intradermal injections.
Implementation Method 1
A high pressure drug delivery system that separates dose setting mechanisms from the high pressure associated with drug delivery
Implementation Method 2
utilizing a valving system with check valves and a gear pump assembly to manage pressure and prevent backflow
Data Source
AI summary
A high pressure delivery system for delivering a medicament, comprising a first chamber for storing a supply of the medicament, a gear pump assembly in fluid communication with the first chamber, said gear pump assembly having a dose inlet and a dose discharge, said dose inlet having a larger diameter than said dose discharge to provide a high pressure discharge, and a fluid connection path in fluid communication with the gear pump assembly for delivering the medicament to a high pressure area.