Magnetic Drive System for Automatic Injection Device
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automatic injection devices lack compactness and ease of handling, and they often require complex mechanisms for replacing drug containers while maintaining sterility and minimizing contamination risks.
Innovation Solution
An automatic injection device with a magnetic drive system that includes an outer magnet surrounding the drug container and an inner magnet inside, allowing for linear movement of the plunger without physically entering the container, enabling precise control and compact design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If a magnetic drive system with outer and inner magnets is used, then device compactness and ease of handling are improved, but the complexity of maintaining sterility during drug container replacement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into sterile and non-sterile zones using a removable barrier (e.g., laminated foil or septum) that separates the drug container interior from the external environment. This segmentation allows the plunger to be moved magnetically through the barrier without compromising sterility, enabling compact design while maintaining sterile conditions during container replacement.
Solution Approach 2:
A removable barrier acts as an intermediary element between the sterile drug container interior and the non-sterile external environment. This barrier can be selectively removed or breached to allow plunger movement while maintaining sterility where needed, resolving the contradiction between compact magnetic drive design and sterility maintenance complexity.
2Measurement precision
If the outer magnet is positioned close to the inner magnet for efficient drive, then plunger movement control precision is improved, but the risk of contamination during container replacement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The barrier between sterile and non-sterile zones is made dynamic rather than fixed. It can be selectively removed, breached, or repositioned depending on the operational phase: present during storage to maintain sterility, and removed/breached during plunger actuation to allow magnetic field penetration and precise plunger control, thus resolving the contradiction between precision and contamination risk.
Solution Approach 2:
The barrier is pre-positioned to maintain sterility during drug container replacement, and only removed or breached at the precise moment when plunger movement is required. This preliminary positioning allows the system to maintain sterility when needed while enabling precise magnetic control when required, without compromising either requirement.
3Reliability
If a complex mechanism is used to maintain sterility during drug container replacement, then contamination risk is reduced, but device compactness and ease of handling deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The sterility maintenance function is extracted from a complex mechanical mechanism and simplified to a removable barrier that can be easily inserted or removed. This barrier can be a simple laminated foil or septum that physically separates sterile and non-sterile zones without requiring complex actuation mechanisms, thus maintaining reliability while improving compactness and ease of handling.
Solution Approach 2:
The barrier is designed as a simple, potentially disposable component that provides sterility protection during critical phases. After use, it can be discarded rather than requiring complex cleaning or sterilization procedures, reducing the overall system complexity and improving compactness while maintaining contamination prevention reliability.
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 magnetic drive system allows for precise control over the delivery of pharmaceutical products, maintaining sterility, and facilitating easy replacement of drug containers while ensuring a compact and user-friendly device.
Implementation Method 1
The movable element includes an outer magnet at least partially surrounding the drug container and an inner magnet inside the drug container
Data Source
AI summary
An automatic injection device has an insertion needle configured to be inserted into a patient and a drug container which contains a pharmaceutical product. The drug container includes a plunger. The automatic injection device also has a fluid path which fluidly connects the drug container to the insertion needle. The automatic injection device further has a drive system configured to cause linear movement of the plunger to force the pharmaceutical product into the fluid path. The drive system has a driving element and a movable element. The automatic injection device additionally has electronics configured to provide a signal to the drive system to move the plunger. The movable element has an outer magnet at least partially surrounding the drug container and an inner magnet inside the drug container.