Medical Applicator with Double-Layer Closure for Single-Step Mixing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical applicator devices for skin disinfection and dyeing are cumbersome, require multiple applicators, and often use fragile glass ampoules that can break, leading to handling and disposal issues, and inefficient mixing of substances.
Innovation Solution
A single, cylindrical applicator device with a sliding cartridge and hermetically sealed double-layer closure system for mixing antiseptic and dyeing substances, allowing a single continuous movement for optimal mixing and application without additional components or steps.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If glass ampoules are used to contain medical substances, then hermetic sealing is achieved, but the device becomes fragile and prone to breaking during transportation or handling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces fragile glass ampoules with a disposable plastic cartridge system. The cartridge is designed for single use, eliminating the need for durable, reusable glass containers. This disposable approach maintains hermetic sealing during the product's lifecycle while avoiding the fragility issues of glass during transportation and handling.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the material parameter from glass to plastic, fundamentally altering the mechanical properties of the containment system. This material substitution eliminates fragility while maintaining the hermetic sealing function through specialized closure mechanisms designed for plastic components.
2Reliability
If glass ampoules are used, then hermetic sealing is achieved, but handling and disposal of hospital wastes becomes complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The disposable plastic cartridge system is designed for single use and then disposal. This eliminates the complex handling and disposal procedures required for glass ampoules, as the plastic cartridges can be safely discarded without special precautions against breakage or contamination, significantly simplifying waste management in hospital settings.
3Device complexity
If a single applicator is used for both medical substance and dyeing substance, then the number of applicators is reduced, but the mixing of substances becomes inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The cartridge is segmented into distinct compartments: a first compartment for the medical substance and a second compartment for the dyeing substance. This segmentation allows both substances to be stored separately in a single applicator while preventing premature mixing, ensuring that mixing occurs only at the appropriate time and location for optimal efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
Both substances are pre-loaded into the cartridge in their respective compartments before use. The breaking system is pre-positioned to separate the compartments at the moment of activation, ensuring that mixing occurs precisely when needed. This preliminary preparation maintains substance integrity while enabling efficient mixing during application.
4Ease of operation
If a breaking system is used to break the closure, then the medical substance is released, but glass fragments or residue material may flow with the medical substance
Solution Approach 1:
The plastic cartridge system replaces glass ampoules, eliminating the generation of glass fragments entirely. The disposable nature of the plastic cartridge allows for a simpler breaking mechanism that releases the medical substance without producing harmful residue, as the entire cartridge can be safely discarded after use.
Solution Approach 2:
The use of plastic materials instead of glass creates a composite system that combines the hermetic sealing capability with the advantage of not generating harmful fragments. The plastic closure system is designed to break or open in a controlled manner that releases the substance cleanly without producing dangerous residue.
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 efficient mixing and application of medical substances, reducing waste and complexity, while maintaining sterility and ease of use, and is suitable for various medical applications including pre-operative skin preparation.
Implementation Method 1
the breaking means is shaped so as to be able to break, by pressing, the filled double layer
Implementation Method 2
the breaking means and the double layer closure system make the present invention easy to implement and obtain, thus guaranteeing optimal performance in terms of carrier and mixing capacity of the two components
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention regards an applicator device for the preparation and application of at least one medical substance, preferably a coloured liquid, comprising: a hollow chamber having a hosting end and an opposite distal end in communication with means for contact with the patient; a cartridge slidingly inserted into said hollow chamber, containing at least one first medical substance, and having a first end external to the hollow chamber, and a second end completely inserted into the hollow chamber; a breaking means positioned at the distal end, capable of establishing a fluid communication between the internal of the cartridge and the means for contact with the patient; said second end being sealed by a filled double layer closure system containing at least one second substance, preferably coloured, mixable and/or soluble with the first medical substance contained in the cartridge.