Needle Packaging with Friction Apertures for Sterile Bulk Storage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current bulk packaging solutions for needles lack a compact and sterile way to store and access a large quantity of needles, both shielded and unshielded, while ensuring user safety and maintaining sterility, as they often require handling and can lead to accidental needle sticks and contamination.
Innovation Solution
A package comprising a container with a tray having receiving apertures sized and shaped to fit needle hubs or shields, featuring a tortuous path closure and friction-enhancing materials, allowing for single-handed operation and preventing needle rotation during attachment to a syringe, with a heat-sealable or tortuous path closure for maintaining sterility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If needles are stored in bulk packaging, then quantity of needles is increased, but risk of accidental needle sticks increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bulk packaging is divided into multiple individual sterile pouches, each containing a single needle or a small number of needles. This segmentation allows healthcare workers to access only the needed quantity while maintaining sterility and reducing exposure to multiple sharp objects simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
Individual sterile pouches are nested within a larger bulk packaging container. This nested structure allows compact storage of large quantities while enabling selective removal of individual pouches, thereby maintaining safety by limiting exposure to only the immediately needed needles.
2Quantity of substance
If needles are stored in bulk packaging, then storage capacity is increased, but sterility maintenance becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The bulk packaging system segments needles into individually sealed sterile pouches. Each pouch maintains its own sterile barrier, allowing the bulk container to be opened without compromising the sterility of unused pouches. This enables long-term storage of large quantities while preserving sterility through independent sealing of each unit.
Solution Approach 2:
Individual sterile pouches utilize flexible film barriers that maintain sterility while allowing compact nesting within the bulk container. These thin film barriers provide effective sterilization protection and can be sealed hermetically, enabling bulk storage capacity while maintaining the reliability of sterility for each individual unit.
3Reliability
If receiving apertures are designed to fit needle hubs, then needle security is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The receiving apertures are designed with asymmetric shapes that correspond to the asymmetric geometry of needle hubs. This asymmetric matching provides secure, rotation-resistant engagement while maintaining relatively simple aperture structures. The asymmetric design ensures proper orientation and secure fit without requiring complex mechanical locking mechanisms.
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 solution provides a compact, sterile, and safe means to access and use needles, preventing accidental needle sticks and contamination by ensuring secure engagement with syringes and maintaining sterility through innovative apertures and closure systems.
Implementation Method 1
a friction enhancing material is disposed within the plurality of receiving apertures. The friction enhancing material may be rubber or silicone.
Implementation Method 2
the package or container is sealed in a heat seal closure
Data Source
AI summary
Packages of sterile needles are described herein. Such packages may include a container, a tray having a plurality of receiving apertures that are sized and shaped to receive a needle hub or a needle shield, a plurality of needles disposed within the plurality of receiving apertures; and a lid being supported by the container. The lid and container form an enclosure for the plurality of needles.