Dual Diameter Cannula Needle Device with Passive Guard
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Solution Overview
Problem
Healthcare workers are at risk of accidental needle sticks and disease transmission due to exposed needle tips during and after medical procedures, as existing needle safety systems can be complex, unreliable, or require manual activation, posing a challenge for immediate and passive protection.
Innovation Solution
A needle device with a catheter hub featuring a female Luer connector and a needle hub with a physical abutment to set the needle tip's exposure, incorporating a needle guard that automatically engages and disengages using a change in profile within the hub's interior cavity, ensuring passive and reliable protection of the needle tip after use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a needle guard system is implemented to cover the needle tip, then safety against accidental needle sticks is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The needle guard system is designed to automatically engage and disengage based on the position of the needle relative to the catheter hub, without requiring manual activation. The guard engages when the needle is inserted and disengages when the needle is withdrawn, providing passive safety that reduces complexity of operation while maintaining reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The needle guard is pre-positioned in a retracted state within the catheter hub before needle insertion. This preliminary positioning ensures that the guard is ready to automatically cover the needle tip as soon as the needle is inserted, providing immediate protection without requiring additional activation steps
2Ease of operation
If the needle guard automatically engages and disengages, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability may worsen due to potential failure of automatic mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The needle guard system is divided into distinct functional segments: the guard body, the engagement surfaces, and the actuation mechanism. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and simplifies the overall mechanism, making it more reliable while maintaining ease of operation
Solution Approach 2:
The catheter hub serves as an intermediary structure that facilitates the automatic engagement and disengagement of the needle guard. The hub contains guide surfaces and engagement features that passively control the guard's movement based on needle position, eliminating the need for complex active control mechanisms while ensuring reliable operation
3Manufacturing precision
If the needle tip exposure is precisely controlled by physical abutment, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The needle tip exposure control utilizes dynamic positioning through the physical abutment between the needle hub and catheter hub. As the needle assembly is inserted or withdrawn, the abutment automatically adjusts the needle tip position relative to the catheter hub opening, providing precise control without requiring complex fixed positioning mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
The physical abutment mechanism is integrated into the existing needle hub and catheter hub structures, combining the exposure control function with the existing mechanical interfaces. This merging eliminates the need for separate positioning mechanisms and reduces overall device complexity while maintaining manufacturing precision
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 1C~1D
Figure 2A~2B
AI summary
A needle device (100) includes a catheter tube (108) attached to a catheter hub (106), a needle (104) attached to a needle hub (102), and a needle guard (122). The catheter hub (106) has an interior cavity (120) and a projection (136) extending from an interior surface in the interior cavity (120). The needle (104) projects through the catheter tube (108) and has a needle tip (110) extending out a distal end of the catheter tube (108) in a ready position, a proximal end attached to a needle hub (102), and a shaft having a shaft diameter region (104a), a reduced diameter region (104b), and at least one transition region (104c) between the shaft diameter region (104a) and the reduced diameter region (104b). The needle guard (122) has a proximal wall (126) and two arms (124a, 124b) extending distal the proximal wall (126). The two arms (124a, 124b) press against the shaft in the ready position and secure the needle tip (110) in the protective position.