Reservoir Bubble Trap for Infusion Delivery Accuracy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical infusion systems face challenges in minimizing the presence of air bubbles in fluidic media delivered to patients, which can affect delivery accuracy and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A reservoir system with a bubble trap portion and a plunger head design that captures and manages air bubbles, ensuring they are trapped within the reservoir before fluid expulsion, utilizing a unique geometry and surface materials to prevent bubble dissemination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a conventional reservoir design is used, then the device complexity is low, but air bubbles are present in the delivered fluidic medium affecting delivery accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The reservoir is divided into distinct functional zones: a main body portion for fluid storage and a separate bubble trap portion for air bubble collection. This segmentation allows the reservoir to simultaneously maintain simple overall structure while incorporating bubble-trapping functionality to improve delivery accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The bubble trap portion acts as an intermediary element between the fluid storage and the delivery port. It captures and retains air bubbles that form during fluidic medium storage, preventing them from being delivered to the patient while allowing the fluid to pass through to the port.
2Reliability
If the reservoir is designed with bubble trapping capability, then air bubbles are captured effectively, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bubble trap portion is merged with the body portion to form a single integrated reservoir structure. This combining approach enables effective bubble trapping while simplifying the manufacturing process, as the reservoir can be produced as one piece using conventional molding techniques rather than requiring assembly of multiple separate components.
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 system effectively reduces the number of air bubbles delivered, enhancing the accuracy and reliability of fluidic medium dispensation, thereby improving treatment efficacy.
Implementation Method 1
The bubble trap portion has a volume within the interior of the reservoir in fluid flow communication with the interior volume for trapping air bubbles that are in the fluidic medium as the fluidic medium is being expelled from the interior volume
Implementation Method 2
a bubble trap portion (212) having a volume (216) within an interior of the reservoir for trapping air bubbles
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
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AI summary
Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to patches for medical devices. In various embodiments, an adhesive patch of a medical device may have selective areas with adhesive material of varying adhesion strengths. In other embodiments, an adhesive patch of a medical device may include adhesive material that may be activated by a catalyst to increase or decrease the adhesion strength of the adhesive material. In further embodiments, a medical device may include a pierceable membrane containing an agent, the pierceable membrane positioned to be pierced by a needle and to cause some of the agent to be carried to the user-patient.