Flexible Container Insert Part for Infusion Dead Volume Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing flexible containers for infusion pumps have high dead volume, making them inefficient and costly, and pose challenges in air removal and pressure measurement due to their design, which affects the compactness and sterility of infusion devices.
Innovation Solution
A flexible container with a sealed design using two wall sheets and an insert part that connects the storage compartment to an access opening via a fluid conduit system, minimizing dead volume and allowing for easy connection to infusion pumps, while incorporating features like bubble traps and sealing lips to ensure sterility and efficient fluid transfer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a flexible container with two wall sheets is used, then sterility and compactness are improved, but dead volume increases and fluid transfer efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The container is divided into two separate wall sheets (first and second wall sheets) that are sealed together, creating a structured flexible container with defined access openings and fluid pathways that reduce dead volume while maintaining sterility
Solution Approach 2:
An insert part with a fluid conduit system acts as an intermediary element between the storage compartment and access opening, enabling efficient fluid transfer through a defined pathway that minimizes dead volume accumulation
2Reliability
If a flexible container with sealed design is used, then sterility is improved, but pressure measurement accuracy deteriorates due to air inclusion
Solution Approach 1:
Bubble trap elements are incorporated into the fluid conduit system to preliminarily capture and remove air bubbles before pressure measurements are taken, ensuring that pressure readings accurately reflect fluid pressure without air inclusion interference
3Volume of moving object
If the container volume is reduced for compact infusion pumps, then device portability is improved, but the effectiveness of suction pressure diminishes
Solution Approach 1:
The fluid conduit system uses a flat, planar configuration with drain channels arranged in a two-dimensional pattern on the insert part, allowing efficient fluid transfer from a compact container while maintaining adequate suction pressure through optimized channel geometry and distribution
Data Source
Figure 1(a)~1(b)
Figure 2(a)~3
Figure 4(a)~4(b)
AI summary
A flexible container (1) for storing a liquid medicament comprises a storage compartment (11) for the liquid medicament, the container having a container wall consisting of two adjacent wall sheets (101, 102) of flexible material that are sealed together (13, 14) along a sealing rim (13), and an insert part (2) that is arranged between the two wall sheets, having an essentially flat body (21) with a first, upper surface (211) and a second, lower surface (212), and an inner conduit (23) opening toward the upper surface (211), and being fluidly connected to one or more drain channels (22, 221) that lead to an outer edge of the body (21). The container comprises an access opening (121) on one of the wall sheets, the access opening being designed to be fluidly connected to an outer conduit system (33), The insert part fluidly connects (22, 23, 221) the storage compartment and the access opening. The insert part comprises a sealing lip (27) arranged on the upper surface (211), for sealingly connecting the inner conduit (23) with an external conduit system (33), the sealing lip (27) preferably consisting of a material with higher elasticity than the material of the body (21) of the insert part.