Flexible Infusion Pump Pushrod for Compact Wearable Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional infusion pump systems are limited by their size, which affects portability and convenience, as they often require larger housings to accommodate rigid pushrods, hindering their ability to be worn or carried easily while dispensing medication reliably and safely.
Innovation Solution
A medical infusion pump system with a pushrod that can adjust from a curved to a straight configuration, incorporating anti-rotation, anti-torsion, and anti-elongation mechanisms, allowing for a compact design that maintains reliability and safety during medication dispensation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a rigid pushrod is used to force medicine from the infusion pump device, then the pump device can reliably dispense medication, but the pump housing must be sized to accommodate the length of the rigid rod both when it is fully withdrawn from the reservoir and when it is fully extended into the reservoir, increasing the overall size of the device
Solution Approach 1:
The pushrod is designed to be flexible rather than rigid, allowing it to change its configuration dynamically. When retracted, the pushrod forms a curved configuration that fits within a smaller volume. When extended, it straightens to push the plunger, maintaining dispensing reliability while reducing the required housing volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The pushrod transitions from a one-dimensional straight rod to a multi-dimensional curved configuration when retracted. This dimensional change allows the pushrod to occupy less linear space while maintaining its functional length when extended, thereby reducing the pump housing volume required.
2Volume of moving object
If a flexible pushrod is used to reduce pump size, then portability and convenience are improved, but the pushrod may rotate or twist during operation, potentially causing inaccurate medication delivery
Solution Approach 1:
The pushrod is divided into multiple rod segments that are interconnected by hinge portions. This segmentation allows the pushrod to be flexible for compact storage while maintaining structural integrity and resistance to rotation and torsion during operation, ensuring accurate medication delivery.
Solution Approach 2:
The pushrod combines flexible hinge portions with rigid rod segments and incorporates anti-rotation and anti-torsion mechanisms. This composite structure integrates both flexibility for compactness and rigidity for reliable, accurate medication delivery during operation.
3Volume of moving object
If the pushrod is made adjustable from curved to straight configuration, then the pump device size is reduced for better portability, but the mechanism becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The pushrod is divided into multiple rod segments that are interconnected by hinge portions. This segmentation enables the pushrod to adjust from a curved configuration when retracted to a straight configuration when extended, reducing pump size while using simple, modular components that minimize overall mechanism complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Some embodiments of a medical infusion pump system include a pump device having a flexible pushrod that can adjust from a curved configuration to a generally straight configuration. The flexible pushrod is part of a drive system of the pump device so that the flexible pushrod can be controllably and incrementally advanced toward a medicine reservoir to incrementally dispense the medicine therein. In particular embodiments, the flexible pushrod may comprise an anti-rotation mechanism, an anti-torsion mechanism, or a combination thereof.