Injection Device Noise Component for Complete Dose Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current injection devices, both manual and auto-injectors, face challenges such as user discomfort due to injection force and trembling, potential underdosing, and difficulty in ensuring complete medicament delivery, especially with varying medicament viscosities, and lack of clear visual feedback for needle placement and stopper position within the syringe.
Innovation Solution
An injection device with a syringe, hollow needle, stopper, and plunger that generates audible and/or tactile feedback upon reaching the end of the injection, allowing users to confirm complete medicament expulsion through a noise component interacting with device components, ensuring proper dosing and safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a manual injection device with button/plunger is used, then the user can control the injection process, but the user experiences injection force and trembling causing discomfort and potential underdosing
Solution Approach 1:
The device enables self-service injection by automatically driving the plunger through a spring mechanism after initial user activation. The user simply needs to press a button to release the spring, which then automatically pushes the plunger to complete the injection, eliminating the need for continuous manual pressure and reducing user discomfort while ensuring complete dose delivery.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring is pre-loaded with energy before the injection process begins. This preliminary action stores the force needed to drive the plunger, so that when the user releases the button, the pre-stored energy automatically propels the plunger forward, eliminating the need for the user to continuously apply force during the injection.
2Reliability
If the button/plunger extension is made long to ensure complete dose delivery, then dosing accuracy improves, but user comfort deteriorates due to extended reach and hand shaking
Solution Approach 1:
The spring is pre-compressed to store the energy required for complete plunger displacement. This preliminary action allows the device to achieve full dose delivery (improving dosing accuracy) without requiring the user to manually extend a long button/plunger, as the pre-loaded spring automatically provides the necessary travel distance.
Solution Approach 2:
The device performs the long plunger travel automatically through the spring mechanism, eliminating the need for the user to manually operate an extended button. The self-service mechanism completes the full injection stroke without user intervention after initial activation, reducing hand shaking and improving comfort.
3Reliability
If visual feedback mechanisms are added to show stopper position, then dosing accuracy improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The device incorporates feedback mechanisms that provide audible and tactile signals to the user during injection. These feedback systems notify the user when the injection is complete or when certain milestones are reached, improving dosing accuracy without requiring complex visual displays or electronic components.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using complex visual feedback systems (such as electronic displays or transparent components), the invention employs simple mechanical feedback mechanisms that produce audible clicks or tactile sensations. This substitutes complex visual systems with simpler mechanical indicators, maintaining dosing accuracy while reducing device complexity.
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 provides clear feedback to users, reducing the risk of underdosing or medicament waste, enhancing user comfort and ensuring complete delivery of the medicament, regardless of viscosity, by indicating the end of the injection process.
Implementation Method 1
The released noise component impacts on at least one component of the injection device to generate the audible and/or tactile feedback indicating the end of the injection
Data Source
AI summary
An Injection device for administering a dose of liquid medicament to patient comprises—a syringe containing the dose of medicament—a hollow injection needle adapted to penetrate skin of the patient,—a stopper translatably disposed within syringe,—a plunger connectable to stopper and translatable in at least a proximal direction to displace stopper in the proximal direction and—a releasable noise component capable of, upon release, generating an audible and/or tactile feedback. The proximal displacement of stopper causes the dose of the medicament to be expelled through the hollow injection needle. The noise component is released when the plunger reaches a position relative to the syringe in which stopper is located in proximity of a proximal end of the syringe. The released noise component impacts on at least one component of the injection device to generate the audible and/or tactile feedback indicating the end of the injection.