Palm-Activated Injector With Needle-Guard Interlock
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing parenteral drug delivery methods, such as syringes and auto-injectors, face challenges including needle phobia, inaccurate dosing, safety concerns, and inefficiencies in delivering drugs with varying viscosities or requiring refrigeration, leading to incomplete delivery or drug degradation.
Innovation Solution
A drug delivery device with a needle guard that automatically shields the needle, provides ergonomic design for one-handed use, and includes a mechanism for user-controlled injection with audible feedback to ensure complete dosing, using a plunger rod and biasing element for controlled drug delivery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a needle and syringe is used for parenteral drug delivery, then the user can control insertion and delivery speed, but the user experiences needle phobia, pain, and safety concerns
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into separate functional components: a needle assembly, a syringe body, a plunger mechanism, and a safety shield. The needle can be detached and disposed of separately from the syringe, allowing the user to discard only the contaminated portion while retaining the reusable syringe body. This segmentation reduces the psychological barrier to using needles by isolating the harmful element.
Solution Approach 2:
The safety shield is pre-positioned to automatically cover the needle after injection, and the plunger mechanism is pre-loaded with the medication. The device is designed to automatically engage the safety shield when the plunger is depressed, eliminating the need for the user to manually handle the exposed needle after use. This preliminary arrangement of protective elements reduces pain and safety concerns during and after the procedure.
2Ease of manufacture
If traditional syringes are used, then manufacturing cost is low and design is simple, but dosing accuracy is poor and drug delivery is incomplete
Solution Approach 1:
The device incorporates visual indicators on the syringe barrel that show the user the volume of medication remaining and the volume being delivered. A plunger position indicator aligns with graduated markings to provide real-time feedback on delivery progress. This feedback mechanism ensures complete dosing by allowing the user to verify that the full prescribed amount has been administered, improving dosing accuracy without complicating the manufacturing process.
Solution Approach 2:
The device replaces manual estimation of delivery volume with a mechanical indicator system that provides objective measurement. The plunger rod includes a visible indicator that moves in correspondence with the delivered volume, substituting the user's subjective judgment with an objective mechanical measurement system. This improves dosing precision while maintaining simplicity in the overall device design.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If auto-injectors are used to hide the needle, then needle phobia and safety concerns are reduced, but the user loses control over insertion and delivery speed
Solution Approach 1:
The device features a dynamic safety shield that can be in two states: retracted to allow needle insertion and extended to protect the needle after use. The shield is spring-loaded to automatically return to the protective position after injection, but can be manually retracted before use. This dynamic design allows the device to adapt to different operational phases, providing both user control during insertion and automatic protection during disposal.
Solution Approach 2:
The safety shield is designed to automatically engage and cover the needle after the plunger is depressed, without requiring manual intervention. The plunger mechanism itself triggers the shield's movement, making the protective action self-activating. This self-service feature maintains user control over the injection process while automatically providing safety protection, eliminating the need for the user to manually handle the exposed needle.
4Speed
If drugs are delivered quickly via syringe plunger depression, then perception of pain is reduced, but incomplete dosing or drug degradation occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The device ensures continuous drug delivery from the moment the plunger is depressed until the full dose is administered. The syringe and needle are pre-assembled with the medication, eliminating air gaps or interruptions in the delivery path. The plunger mechanism is designed to maintain consistent pressure throughout the injection, ensuring the entire dose is delivered continuously without pause or leakage, thereby guaranteeing complete dosing while maintaining rapid delivery speed.
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 reduces needle phobia, ensures accurate dosing, enhances safety by preventing accidental needle punctures, and allows user control over drug delivery speed, reducing waste and drug degradation.
Implementation Method 1
a biasing element configured to bias the needle guard toward the first position
Data Source
AI summary
A device configured to administer a medication can comprise a lower housing that includes a housing latch. The device can further comprise a needle guard that is movable relative to the lower housing along a first direction from a first position to a second position so as to expose a needle, and an upper housing supported relative to the lower housing. The upper housing can be configured to move with respect to the lower housing along a second direction from a pre-use position to a dispensed position. The housing latch can releasably interfere with the upper housing when the upper housing is in the pre-use position so as to prevent the upper housing from moving toward the dispensed position, and the movement of the needle guard toward the second position, causes the interference to be removed, thereby allowing the upper housing to move toward the second position.