Preloaded Suppository Applicator for Hygienic Single-Step Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current suppository administration methods are inconvenient, prone to leakage, and require multiple handling steps, making it difficult to ensure accurate dosage and proper placement in the anal canal or rectum, especially for patients with mobility issues.
Innovation Solution
Manufacturing suppositories within a pre-assembled applicator device, using elements like barrels and plungers to define the shape and ensure sealing engagement, allowing for a single-use, hygienic, and efficient administration process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If suppositories are packaged separately from applicators, then storage and shipping are simplified, but patient convenience deteriorates due to multiple handling steps and assembly requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the applicator and suppository into a single integrated unit. The applicator is designed with a reservoir that contains the suppository, eliminating the need for separate packaging and manual assembly by the patient. This merging resolves the contradiction by maintaining packaging simplicity while dramatically improving patient convenience through single-step administration.
Solution Approach 2:
The suppository is pre-loaded into the applicator during manufacturing, performing the assembly action in advance before patient use. This preliminary action eliminates the need for patients to manually assemble the components, resolving the contradiction between simple packaging and ease of operation by having the assembly completed beforehand during controlled manufacturing.
2Device complexity
If manual finger insertion is used, then device complexity is reduced, but medication leakage and placement accuracy deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The applicator serves as an intermediary device between the patient and the suppository. It provides a controlled delivery mechanism with features like a plunger for precise propulsion and a tapered tip for proper insertion. This intermediary device resolves the contradiction by maintaining relative simplicity while dramatically improving dosage accuracy and preventing leakage through its structured design.
Solution Approach 2:
The applicator is designed to be self-contained with the suppository already loaded, allowing the device to perform its own preparation function. The plunger mechanism automatically propels the suppository when activated, eliminating the need for manual finger insertion while ensuring accurate placement. This self-service capability resolves the contradiction between simplicity and reliability.
3Ease of manufacture
If multiple handling steps are required, then manufacturing flexibility is improved, but hygiene and leakage risks deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
By merging the applicator and suppository into a single sealed unit, the patent eliminates multiple handling steps between manufacturing and patient use. The suppository remains enclosed in the applicator reservoir, preventing leakage and contamination. This merging resolves the contradiction by maintaining manufacturing flexibility while eliminating harmful factors associated with repeated handling.
Solution Approach 2:
The applicator reservoir utilizes a flexible barrier that seals the suppository during storage and transport. This flexible shell maintains the integrity of the medication while allowing for efficient manufacturing processes. The barrier prevents leakage and contamination, resolving the contradiction between manufacturing flexibility and hygiene by providing a protective envelope throughout the supply chain.
Data Source
AI summary
Today's suppositories are typically packaged individually for digital administration into the anal canal of a patient. A suppository applicator described herein, which works with individually packaged suppositories, can alternatively be shipped in a prepackaged operational arrangement with a suppository to enable the patient to administer the suppository through use of the applicator in a single operation after opening a hygienic wrapper containing the applicator-suppository combination. A method for manufacturing a suppository includes manufacturing the suppository in the presence of and in contact with an element configured to be used to insert the suppository into a body cavity. The method may include using the element to define a shape of the suppository during the manufacturing. The resulting applicator-suppository combination is more hygienic and easier to handle than the separate applicator and suppository and provides more efficiency from time of opening the packaging to time of commencing administration of the suppository