Safety Needle With Elastic Rib Sheath Prevents Needle Sticks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing safety hypodermic needles and phlebotomy apparatuses are complex, costly, and do not adequately prevent inadvertent needle sticks before and after use, as they often require manual deployment of protective sheaths and may expose the needle tip during patient administration.
Innovation Solution
A safety needle design featuring a protective sheath with flexible ribs that encloses the needle tip in its 'at rest' state, which can be manually exposed for use and automatically reencloses upon completion, using a molded polymeric material with a latching mechanism to ensure the needle remains protected.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a protective sheath is used to enclose the needle tip, then safety against inadvertent needle sticks is improved, but device complexity increases due to multiple parts and manual deployment requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The protective sheath is integrated with the needle assembly as a single unit, eliminating the need for separate deployment mechanisms. The sheath is molded directly onto the needle shaft, creating a unified structure that reduces part count while maintaining safety functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective sheath automatically repositions itself to cover the needle tip after use through its inherent elastic properties, without requiring manual intervention or additional mechanisms. The sheath's elasticity enables it to snap back into the protective position autonomously.
2Reliability
If a retractable protective sheath is used, then needle protection after use is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to requiring manual deployment steps
Solution Approach 1:
The protective sheath utilizes its elastic properties to automatically return to the retracted position covering the needle tip after the needle is withdrawn from the patient's body. This self-actuating mechanism eliminates the need for manual deployment steps, improving ease of operation while maintaining reliable needle protection.
3Reliability
If a spring-biased tube is used within the needle lumen, then needle protection is improved, but manufacturing cost increases due to complexity and reduced effective lumen size
Solution Approach 1:
The protective sheath is molded integrally with the needle assembly in a single manufacturing process, eliminating the need for separate spring-biased tube components. This integration simplifies manufacturing, reduces part count, and maintains the full effective lumen size of the needle while providing reliable needle protection.
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 solution effectively prevents inadvertent needle sticks by maintaining the needle tip enclosed before and after use, reducing the risk of exposure and transmission of infectious diseases, while being economical and easy to manufacture.
Implementation Method 1
The ribs are flexed or bowed inwardly in close proximity to the shaft of needle 12. Application of forces F, as by the user, radially inwardly toward the needle shaft causes the ribs to flex or bow outwardly
Data Source
AI summary
A safety hypodermic needle and a method of using the same are disclosed. The safety needle comprises a hypodermic needle and a protective sheath molded of a flexible polymeric material. The protective sheath comprises a needle sleeve with an open central passage which houses the sharp needle point. The needle sleeve is supported on a plurality of inwardly bowed ribs in an unflexed “at rest” condition in which the needle point is retained inside the needle sleeve to prevent inadvertent needle sticks. Levers attached to the ribs are used to move the ribs from their inwardly bowed unflexed “at rest” condition to an outwardly bowed flexed condition to permit the needle to pass through the open central passage of the needle sleeve and into a patient's body. After the needle is removed from the patient's body, the ribs automatically return to the unflexed “at rest” condition without the assistance of any additional biasing or restoring means.