Single-Dose Oral Transmucosal Dispensing Device with Deforming Housing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Commercially available dispensing devices for oral transmucosal drug delivery are limited, particularly for single-dose administration, as they can be reused inadvertently due to visual and tactile challenges, and experience friction issues leading to inconsistent dosing speeds, causing medication to be delivered to the throat instead of the oral mucosa.
Innovation Solution
A single-dose drug delivery device with a housing and pusher mechanism that deforms upon actuation to prevent reconfiguration and limit dosage form rotation, ensuring consistent delivery speed by locking the pusher in a second position after expulsion, preventing reuse and ensuring accurate delivery to the oral mucosa.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the dispensing device allows the pusher to return to the first position after actuation, then the device can be reused, but this causes the device to resemble an unused device visually, leading to inadvertent reuse and potential harm
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is pre-configured with a deformation feature that permanently deforms upon actuation, preventing the pusher from returning to the first position. This preliminary structural design ensures that once the dosage form is expelled, the device cannot be reset to its original state, providing clear visual indication of use and preventing inadvertent reuse.
2Ease of operation
If the pusher moves freely during actuation, then the device is easy to operate, but friction causes the dosage form to rotate and be expelled at inconsistent speeds, resulting in inaccurate delivery
Solution Approach 1:
The housing includes a specific region with reduced friction characteristics that locally optimizes the interaction between the pusher and housing during actuation. This localized modification ensures smooth pusher movement while maintaining consistent dosage form delivery speed and orientation, resolving the conflict between ease of operation and delivery precision.
3Productivity
If the dosage form is delivered at high speed, then the delivery is efficient, but the dosage form may overshoot the oral mucosa and be delivered to the throat, causing incorrect administration
Solution Approach 1:
The device is designed with a controlled expulsion mechanism that prevents excessive delivery speed by limiting the pusher's travel distance and force. The housing structure includes features that stop the pusher at a predetermined position, ensuring the dosage form is delivered at an optimal speed that prevents overshooting while maintaining efficient administration.
Data Source
AI summary
Single dose drug dosage form dispensing devices, and methods for operating such devices are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a housing defining an actuation pathway and a pusher. At least a portion of the pusher is disposed within the actuation pathway such that distal end portions of the pusher and the housing define a volume configured to contain a drug-containing tablet. The pusher is configured to move relative to the housing in a distal direction from a first position to a second position to expel the tablet from the volume. The distal end portion of the pusher is extended from an opening in the housing when the pusher is in its second position. The housing is configured to limit movement of the pusher relative to the housing in a proximal direction towards the first position of the pusher after the tablet is expelled.