Integrated Needle Guard for Syringe Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current needle stick prevention solutions are often expensive, cumbersome, and require additional workflows, leading to increased risk of injury due to their complexity and the need for manual handling, which can compromise user safety and ease of use, especially in medical settings where quick and safe needle disposal is crucial.
Innovation Solution
A dual-function needle guard integrated into a syringe design that acts as both an extended plunger and a safeguard, allowing for seamless protection of the needle without changing hand configuration or adding complexity, using a barrel with a slot for the finger grip to ensure the needle is shielded after use, thereby preventing accidental needle sticks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional needle caps are used to secure the needle after injection, then the needle is protected, but the user is exposed to needle stick injuries during the recapping process
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of moving the cap from the needle tip toward the base (traditional recapping), the needle guard is pushed from the base toward the needle tip, inverting the direction of the safeguarding motion. This inversion allows the needle to be covered while the user's fingers remain on the guard, eliminating exposure to the needle tip.
Solution Approach 2:
The needle guard is designed to be activated by the same hand and fingers used for injection, allowing the injecting hand to safely cover the needle without requiring the other hand. The guard's finger grip mechanism enables the user's own hand to perform the protection function, eliminating the need for cross-hand manipulation that causes injuries.
2Reliability
If integrated needle protection mechanisms are added to syringes, then needle stick prevention is improved, but production costs and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The needle guard serves multiple functions: it acts as the plunger during injection, provides finger grip for actuation, and functions as a needle cover after injection. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate components, maintaining simple syringe structure while providing integrated needle protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The needle guard combines the plunger and needle cover into a single integrated component. By merging these functions into one piece that moves along the syringe barrel, the design avoids adding separate protection mechanisms, thereby controlling device complexity and production costs.
3Reliability
If manual positioning of needle protection devices is required after injection, then needle coverage is achieved, but the process becomes cumbersome and increases injury risk
Solution Approach 1:
The needle guard allows the injection action to continue seamlessly into the protection phase. The same pushing motion used to administer the injection is continued to advance the guard over the needle tip, creating a continuous useful action without interrupting the user's focus or requiring a separate manual positioning step.
Solution Approach 2:
The injecting hand automatically performs the needle coverage function through the same motion already being used for injection. The guard's design with finger grips enables the user's own hand to safely cover the needle without requiring the other hand or additional manual positioning maneuvers.
4Reliability
If additional components are added to provide needle protection, then safety is improved, but production costs and physical size increase
Solution Approach 1:
The needle guard performs multiple functions (plunger, finger grip, needle cover) in a single component, eliminating the need for separate protection devices. This reduces the number of parts, simplifies manufacturing, and controls production costs while providing comprehensive needle safety.
Solution Approach 2:
By combining the plunger and needle cover into one integrated component that moves along the syringe barrel, the design avoids adding separate protection mechanisms. This merging of functions reduces component count, simplifies assembly, and maintains cost-effectiveness for large-volume production.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to an injector for preventing accidental needle sticks comprising:—a cylinder extending along a longitudinal axis, an inner wall and an outer wall, the cylinder having an outlet at an outlet end opposite an actuating end and a finger grip on the outer wall, which finger grip is positioned between the outlet end and the actuating end,—a piston having a piston body and a deformable sealing element, which deformable sealing element abuts the inner wall of the cylinder at an abutting interface and seals an annular gap between the piston body and the inner wall of the cylinder when the piston is inserted in the cylinder,—a needle guard for mounting on the outside of the cylinder from the outlet end or the actuating end, which needle guard comprises a barrel with a mounting end opposite an operating end, the barrel having a slot for receiving the finger grip of the cylinder when the needle guard is mounted on the cylinder, which slot extends from the mounting end towards the operating end, wherein when the needle guard is mounted on the cylinder from the actuating end in a protective position, the barrel extends along the longitudinal axis and projects beyond the outlet end of the cylinder so that when a hypodermic needle is attached at the outlet end, the barrel protects a user from accidental needle sticks.