Insulin Pump Control Unit Prevents Air Injection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing drug solution administration apparatuses face challenges in accurately administering the correct amount of medication due to issues with air presence in the flow path, delays in drug delivery, and detachment during use, leading to potential under or over-administration and leakage of expensive medication.
Innovation Solution
A drug solution administration apparatus with an injection unit, a delivery unit, a detection unit, and a control unit that restricts filling and administration operations based on the coupling and decoupling state of the units, ensuring accurate delivery by preventing air injection and excessive or insufficient dosing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the filling operation is performed while the drug solution administration apparatus is attached, then the air can be removed from the flow path, but an excessive amount of drug solution may be administered into the living body
Solution Approach 1:
The filling operation is performed in advance while the apparatus is detached from the living body, ensuring the flow path is filled with drug solution and air is removed before actual administration begins. This preliminary action prevents both air injection and excessive dosing during the attached state.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes state between attached and detached conditions, with the filling operation specifically enabled only in the detached state. The control unit monitors the attachment status and automatically enables or disables the filling function accordingly, creating a dynamic safety mechanism.
2Ease of operation
If the drug solution administration apparatus is accidentally detached from the living body during the administration operation, then the drug solution may leak to the outside, but it becomes impossible to grasp an accurate amount of the drug solution that has been administered
Solution Approach 1:
The detection unit continuously monitors whether the injection unit and delivery unit are properly coupled, and the control unit receives this feedback to determine whether to enable or disable the administration operation. This real-time feedback mechanism ensures accurate tracking of administered amounts by preventing operation when detached.
Solution Approach 2:
The system automatically detects coupling status and self-regulates the administration function without requiring manual intervention. When the units are improperly coupled, the system self-disables the administration capability, ensuring accurate dosing is maintained only when properly connected.
3Productivity
If the administration operation is performed while the drug solution administration apparatus is not attached, then the drug solution can be delivered, but the expensive drug solution leaks to the outside and accurate administration amount cannot be grasped
Solution Approach 1:
The drug solution is delivered to the injection unit in advance while detached, but the actual administration into the living body is restricted until proper attachment is detected. This preliminary delivery prepares the system without causing leakage or inaccurate dosing during the detached state.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces manual monitoring and control of attachment status with an automated detection unit and control unit that electronically monitor coupling conditions and automatically enable or disable administration functions based on detected states.
4Reliability
If a notification system is implemented to inform patients of coupled/decoupled states, then the patient can be encouraged to administer appropriate drug solution, but the patient may not notice or fully understand the notification content
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically detects coupling status and self-regulates the administration function without requiring patient interpretation of notifications. The control unit directly enables or disables operations based on detection unit feedback, making the system self-managing and eliminating reliance on patient understanding of complex notifications.
Data Source
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AI summary
To provide an insulin pump that introduces an appropriate amount of drug solution into a living body to allow a user (patient) to obtain sufficient efficacy. An insulin pump 100 includes an injection unit (a disposable injection unit 110), a delivery unit 120 (a disposable delivery portion 120A and a reusable delivery portion 120B), a detection unit 140, and a control unit 150. The control unit restricts a delivery device (a delivery device 122) 's operation of filling insulin S in a delivery member (a delivery tube 121) or an injection member (a cannula 111) and/or operation of administering the insulin into a living body, on the basis of a detection result of the detection unit.