Needle-less Injection Device Using Disposable Capsule and Pneumatic Jet
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current needle-less injection devices for subcutaneous or intradermal fluid delivery are complex, expensive, hard to control, and often non-disposable, requiring sterilization, whereas traditional needle injectors are simple, inexpensive, and intended for single use, posing challenges in training, skin damage, and contamination prevention.
Innovation Solution
A needle-less injection device with a capsule providing multiple doses, a nozzle for high-pressure fluid injection, and a mechanism for balanced support, allowing for programmable parameters like pressure and depth of penetration, with disposable components to prevent contamination and minimize skin trauma.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If needle-less injectors are used to reduce skin damage and training requirements, then the device becomes more complex, heavier, and more expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into disposable components (capsule, nozzle, injection head) and reusable components (compressor, base unit). This segmentation allows the complex high-pressure generation mechanisms to be contained in a reusable unit while the disposable parts remain simple and inexpensive, resolving the contradiction between reducing skin damage and maintaining device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The capsule, nozzle, and injection head are designed as disposable components that are discarded after a single use or single patient treatment. This eliminates the need to sterilize complex components and reduces the cost barrier for adopting needle-less technology, as only simple disposable parts need to be replaced rather than expensive reusable mechanisms.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If needle-less injectors are used to minimize skin trauma and enable self-healing, then the device cannot be disposable due to complexity, requiring sterilization
Solution Approach 1:
The device separates components that contact the patient (capsule, nozzle, injection head) from the high-pressure generation system. The disposable components can be sterilized through simple autoclaving or chemical sterilization, while the complex reusable components never contact the patient, eliminating cross-contamination risks between patients.
Solution Approach 2:
The disposable capsule-nozzle-injection head assembly can be sterilized as a complete unit and discarded after one use, ensuring no contamination transfer. This makes the device truly disposable despite the reusable base unit, maintaining reliability while enabling needle-less injection benefits.
3Device complexity
If a common syringe is used for fluid injection, then the device is simple and inexpensive, but it causes significant skin damage and requires trained administrators
Solution Approach 1:
The device replaces the mechanical needle penetration system with a fluid dynamics-based high-pressure jet injection system. The compressor generates high-pressure gas that propels the fluid through a narrow nozzle, creating a high-velocity jet that penetrates skin without mechanical contact, thereby eliminating needle-related damage while keeping the overall system relatively simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The device uses pneumatic pressure from a compressor to generate the high-pressure fluid jet. This pneumatic mechanism replaces the need for complex mechanical actuators or electronic systems, maintaining simplicity while achieving the high pressures needed for needle-less penetration and minimizing skin trauma.
4Manufacturing precision
If needle-less injectors create high pressurized jets with small diameter for penetration, then the device becomes harder to control and more expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The high-pressure jet system is designed to be self-aligning and self-regulating. The fluid jet naturally penetrates perpendicular to the skin surface due to pressure distribution, and the disposable injection head maintains consistent positioning without requiring complex active control systems. This simplifies operation while maintaining precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The device allows adjustment of injection parameters such as pressure level, injection duration, and nozzle-to-skin distance. These parameter changes enable control over penetration depth and fluid distribution without requiring complex mechanical positioning systems, making the device easier to operate while maintaining manufacturing precision.
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 enables efficient, controlled, and minimally invasive fluid delivery with reduced training requirements, minimizing skin damage and contamination risks while allowing for precise and effective treatment of larger skin areas with multiple injections.
Implementation Method 1
a second mechanism to inject a high pressure jet stream of the fluid into the skin of the patient
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A
Figure 2B
AI summary
A needle-less fluid injection device, including, a nozzle head with an injection hole for accepting a dose of fluid to be injected into the skin of a patient, a fluid capsule that is connected to said nozzle head and provides the nozzle head with one or more doses of fluid for injection, an injection head for mounting the fluid capsule and the nozzle head; including a first mechanism for releasing a dose of fluid from the fluid capsule to the nozzle and a second mechanism for injecting the dose of fluid from the nozzle into the skin of a patient.