Frangible Seal Oral Nipple for Neonatal Dosing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Administering oral therapeutics to neonates and juveniles is challenging due to their uncooperative nature, leading to spills and uncertainty in dosing, and existing devices are prone to contamination and require tedious manipulation for coating and filling.
Innovation Solution
An oral administration device with a nipple member featuring a frangible seal that ruptures under pressure, optionally surrounded by a vacuum package to prevent leakage, and an integrated syringe for easy filling, ensuring accurate and contamination-free delivery of therapeutics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a practitioner dips a pacifier into a container of sweetener multiple times, then the neonate can be calmed, but the container becomes contaminated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a disposable pacifier unit with a pre-filled therapeutic reservoir. Each pacifier is designed for single-use, eliminating cross-contamination between multiple dipplings while maintaining ease of administration. The pacifier is discarded after one use, ensuring sterility without requiring repeated contamination of a shared container.
Solution Approach 2:
The therapeutic is pre-loaded into the pacifier's reservoir during manufacturing, before use. This preliminary action eliminates the need for practitioners to repeatedly dip the pacifier into a shared container, thereby preventing contamination while maintaining ease of administration. The pacifier is ready for immediate use with the therapeutic already in place.
2Ease of manufacture
If a practitioner manually coats the oral administration device with therapeutic, then the device can be used, but the process is tedious and messy
Solution Approach 1:
The therapeutic is pre-filled into the pacifier's reservoir during the manufacturing process. This preliminary action eliminates the tedious and time-consuming manual coating step that practitioners would otherwise have to perform. The device is ready for immediate use without requiring any preparation time at the point of care.
Solution Approach 2:
The pacifier is designed as a self-contained unit where the therapeutic is already positioned within the reservoir. The device serves itself by having the therapeutic pre-loaded, eliminating the need for practitioner intervention to coat or fill the device. This self-service design saves time and reduces mess while maintaining ease of manufacture.
3Quantity of substance
If therapeutic is poured into the oral administration device, then the device can be filled, but therapeutic may be spilled and correct dosage cannot be determined
Solution Approach 1:
The therapeutic is pre-measured and pre-filled into the pacifier's reservoir during manufacturing. This preliminary action ensures that the correct dosage is precisely placed in the device before use, eliminating the risk of spillage that occurs when practitioners manually pour therapeutic at the point of care. The dosage is determined and sealed in advance.
Solution Approach 2:
The pacifier is designed as a self-contained unit with an integrated reservoir that holds the therapeutic. The device serves itself by having the therapeutic pre-loaded in the correct amount, eliminating the need for practitioner intervention to measure and pour. This prevents spillage and ensures accurate dosing while maintaining ease of manufacture through automated filling during production.
4Ease of operation
If the nipple member allows therapeutic to escape easily, then administration is simple, but therapeutic may leak before administration
Solution Approach 1:
The pacifier is sealed in a vacuum package during manufacturing and shipping. This preliminary protective action prevents premature leakage of the therapeutic before administration. The vacuum seal maintains the integrity of the therapeutic reservoir until the moment of use, when the seal is intentionally broken to allow therapeutic release.
Solution Approach 2:
The pacifier employs a flexible nipple member with a frangible seal that is designed to break under suction. The flexible nature of the nipple allows it to maintain its shape and contain the therapeutic under normal conditions, while the thin film seal provides reliable containment until intentionally broken by the infant's sucking action. This combination ensures ease of operation when needed while preventing premature leakage.
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
The device ensures precise dosing and minimizes waste by allowing force-induced release of therapeutics from the nipple member, maintaining sterility through vacuum packaging, and simplifies the filling process with the syringe, enhancing treatment efficacy and convenience.
Implementation Method 1
Applied pressure causes the frangible seal to rupture allowing a therapeutic contained in the nipple member to escape
Implementation Method 2
the nipple member is surrounded by a vacuum package. The vacuum package prevents therapeutic contained in the nipple from leaking out of the nipple member prior to administration
Data Source
AI summary
An oral administration device having a nipple member and a frangible seal is disclosed. And oral administration system having a nipple member and a syringe to fill the nipple member is disclosed. An oral administration device having a vacuum package surrounding the oral administration device is also disclosed.