Reusable Injection Device Cartridge Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current handheld injection devices for administering epinephrine in emergency situations are expensive, require frequent replacement, and are not cost-effective for mass production, making them burdensome for widespread use.
Innovation Solution
A handheld injection device with a reusable design featuring a cartridge assembly that can be replaced, a main spring assembly for fluid dispensing, and a sterile sleeve to maintain needle sterility, allowing for easy operation and low production costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If current handheld injection devices are used to deliver epinephrine, then effective medicine delivery is achieved, but the device cost is extremely high ($500 or more per single dose)
Solution Approach 1:
The injection device is divided into separate functional modules: a reusable housing containing the spring mechanism and actuator, and a replaceable cartridge containing the medicine and needle. This segmentation allows the expensive reusable components to be manufactured once and used multiple times, while only the inexpensive cartridge needs replacement, dramatically reducing the effective cost per dose while maintaining delivery reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The design separates the valuable reusable components (housing, spring, actuator) from the disposable cartridge. After use, the cartridge is discarded while the housing is retained and reset for future use. This recovery of expensive components for repeated use directly addresses the high cost per dose problem while ensuring reliable medicine delivery through proven reusable mechanisms.
2Reliability
If current injection devices are replaced every year to ensure fresh epinephrine, then medicine effectiveness is maintained, but the replacement frequency and cost burden increase
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the medicine-containing cartridge from the reusable housing, the design enables independent replacement of only the cartridge when the medicine expires. This allows the expensive housing with mechanical components to be reused indefinitely, while the cartridge is replaced only when needed for fresh medicine, optimizing both reliability and productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The cartridge is designed as a disposable component that is discarded after use or when medicine expires, while the housing is recovered and reset for continued use. This approach maintains medicine effectiveness by ensuring fresh cartridges are used while maximizing the reuse efficiency of the expensive housing components.
3Ease of manufacture
If a reusable injection device design is implemented, then production cost and ease of use improve, but ensuring sterility and reliability become more challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The device separates sterile components (cartridge, needle, sterile sleeve) from non-sterile reusable components (housing, spring, actuator). The sterile cartridge is disposed of after single use, eliminating the risk of contamination from reusable parts while allowing the housing to be reused. This segmentation maintains sterility reliability while enabling cost-effective reuse.
Solution Approach 2:
The cartridge and needle are designed as inexpensive disposable components that are discarded after single use. This eliminates the need to sterilize reusable needle components and ensures sterility reliability. The low cost of these disposable elements makes the overall reusable device economically viable.
4Ease of operation
If a complex spring release mechanism is used to enable easy injection, then ease of operation improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The spring mechanism is pre-loaded and self-contained within the housing. When the cartridge is inserted, the spring automatically engages with the cartridge plunger, requiring no manual assembly or complex adjustment by the user. The actuator simply needs to be pressed to trigger the pre-configured release mechanism, making operation simple while containing the complexity within the reusable housing that doesn't require user manipulation.
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 provides an affordable, easy-to-use, and effective means of delivering epinephrine, enabling mass production while maintaining sterility and ensuring the device can be reused or replaced as needed.
Implementation Method 1
The main spring is positioned such that it abuts against the housing end wall and the plate
Data Source
AI summary
An injection device is provided having a housing with a plunger stop block and a cartridge assembly for holding a fluid. The cartridge assembly has a plunger that has an injection needle. A main spring assembly having a main spring and a plate having first and second support arms is positioned in the housing. A release component is positioned in the housing and includes a release ring having teeth with sliding surfaces, and the release ring defines first and second release slots. An actuator having an actuator ring from which actuator rods extend is positioned in the housing. The actuator rods can engage the sliding surfaces of the teeth, such that when a force is applied to the actuator ring the release component rotates and releases the main spring, and this causes the plunger to contact the plunger stop block and drive fluid out of the injection needle.