Incremental Syringe Plunger with Audible Feedback for Bladder Injection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for delivering OnabotulinumtoxinA to the bladder for treating Overactive Bladder are cumbersome, causing patient discomfort and risk of urethral injury due to lack of precision and require complex, non-disposable devices that are difficult to sterilize, and often necessitate visual distraction from the injection site, increasing the risk of incorrect dosage delivery.
Innovation Solution
A medical injection assembly featuring a flexible cannula with high tensile strength and a novel incremental syringe plunger system that provides precise control and one-handed operation, allowing for precise injection patterns on the bladder wall with minimal lateral movement, and includes a biocompatible thermoplastic polymer cannula with predefined curvature and a syringe with audible and tactile feedback for accurate dosage delivery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If current methods use a cystoscope and needle moved together as a unit, then the procedure can be performed with simple device structure, but patient discomfort increases and urethral injury risk increases due to significant lateral movement
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into separate functional components: the cystoscope for visualization and the needle for injection are independent of each other. The needle can be manipulated separately from the cystoscope, allowing precise injection without moving the entire assembly laterally, thereby reducing patient discomfort and urethral injury risk while maintaining simple overall device structure.
2Ease of manufacture
If current devices are made non-disposable to reduce manufacturing costs, then manufacturing cost decreases, but device complexity increases due to disassembly and sterilization requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The device is designed as a disposable single-use item that can be discarded after one use. This eliminates the need for complex disassembly and sterilization procedures, reducing both the operational complexity and the risk of contamination. The disposable nature maintains cost-effectiveness while simplifying the overall device lifecycle management.
3Ease of operation
If physicians must look away from the needle to monitor dosage delivery, then simple syringe operation is possible, but measurement precision decreases due to increased risk of incorrect dosage delivery
Solution Approach 1:
The syringe incorporates visual feedback mechanisms such as graduated markings and a plunger position indicator that allow the physician to monitor dosage delivery while maintaining visual contact with the needle and target tissue. This enables precise dosage control without looking away, combining ease of operation with measurement precision.
4Reliability
If multiple injections are required for precise treatment patterns, then treatment effectiveness improves, but device complexity increases due to need for precise positioning control
Solution Approach 1:
The device incorporates pre-marked injection sites and predetermined injection patterns on the cystoscope or device housing. These markings guide the physician to deliver multiple injections at precise locations without requiring complex positioning control mechanisms. The preliminary marking system ensures treatment effectiveness while maintaining simple device operation.
Data Source
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AI summary
An incremental syringe is provided and includes a syringe barrel, a finger grip disposed at the proximal end of the syringe barrel, a tab disposed inside the syringe barrel, and a plunger body having detentes, wherein the detentes are configured to interact with the tab to provide audible and tactile feedback to a user when the plunger body is pushed through the syringe barrel in a distal direction.