Segmented Insulin Infusion Patch With Spring-Loaded Plunger
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional insulin infusion devices are bulky, expensive, and require frequent disposal, limiting their usability and comfort for diabetic patients, with issues including long delivery tubes, rigid cannula placement, and inability to disconnect during certain activities.
Innovation Solution
A miniature, two-part infusion patch with a disposable and reusable component, featuring a soft cannula for customizable insertion angles and lengths, allowing safe and user-friendly connection and disconnection to the body, and a compact design without external tubing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional syringe-type reservoirs with motor-driven plungers are used, then precise fluid delivery is achieved, but the device becomes bulky and heavy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the motor-driven plunger mechanism with a purely mechanical spring-loaded plunger system. The spring provides the driving force for fluid delivery without requiring an electric motor, thereby eliminating motors, batteries, and associated electronics from the disposable reservoir portion, significantly reducing weight and complexity while maintaining precise delivery through controlled spring expansion
Solution Approach 2:
The device is divided into two separate portions: a reusable pump housing containing the motor and electronics, and a disposable reservoir containing only the spring mechanism and fluid. This segmentation allows the heavy motorized components to be separated from the lightweight disposable portion, reducing the weight that patients must carry while maintaining precise delivery capability in the reusable unit
2Adaptability or versatility
If long delivery tubes are used to permit remote needle insertion, then insertion flexibility is improved, but the device becomes bulky and uncomfortable
Solution Approach 1:
The delivery system is segmented into a short internal tube within the disposable reservoir and a separate external tubing portion. This allows the reservoir to be compact without requiring a long tube to extend from it, as the tubing can be routed externally from the pump housing rather than from the end of the disposable reservoir, reducing bulk and improving comfort
3Reliability
If the entire device is disposed of every 2-3 days, then infection risk is reduced, but cost increases due to disposal of expensive components
Solution Approach 1:
The device is segmented into disposable and reusable portions, allowing only the inexpensive reservoir, spring, and tubing to be discarded every 2-3 days while retaining the expensive motorized pump housing. This segmentation maintains infection prevention by replacing all components that contact the patient, while dramatically reducing cost by preserving the expensive electronic and motor components
Solution Approach 2:
The patent designs the disposable portion to contain only inexpensive components (reservoir, spring, tubing) that can be safely discarded after a few days of use, while the expensive motorized pump housing is designed for repeated reuse. This approach maintains the safety benefit of frequent disposal while eliminating the economic waste of discarding expensive components
4Ease of manufacture
If rigid cannula placement is used, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but patient comfort and versatility decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The cannula is designed with flexible properties that allow it to be bent and shaped to different angles and configurations. This flexibility enables the cannula to be customized for different insertion sites and angles on the patient's body while maintaining ease of manufacture through simple flexible material construction rather than complex rigid structures
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 provides a discreet, cost-effective, and versatile infusion system that can be attached anywhere on the body, offering customizable cannula insertion and disconnection, enhancing patient comfort and reducing waste by allowing selective disposal of inexpensive parts.
Implementation Method 1
The driving mechanism is a spring-loaded plunger moving forward within a thin profile syringe-type reservoir
Implementation Method 2
peristaltic positive displacement pumps
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2a~2b
Figure 3A~3C
AI summary
Apparatus (1) for delivering therapeutic fluid into a body of a patient, comprising: a dispensing unit (10) having a reservoir (220) containing therapeutic fluid, said dispensing unit (10) further comprising a driving mechanism (120) and an outlet port (210), with said driving mechanism (120) causing displacement of the therapeutic fluid disposed inside said reservoir (220) toward said outlet port (210); a skin adherable needle unit (20) in fluid communication with said dispensing unit (10); and a penetrating cartridge (22) having a penetrating member (320) and a cannula (330) for inserting into the body of the patient. The dispensing unit (10) can be connected to and disconnected from said skin adherable needle unit (20), and said outlet port (210) is configured to connect to and disconnect from said needle unit (20) establishing fluid communication between the reservoir (220) and the cannula (330) via a connecting lumen. The dispensing unit (10) further comprises: a reusable part (100) having at least part of said driving mechanism (120) and electronic components (130); a disposable part (200) having said reservoir (220) configured as a unitary portion of a housing of said disposable part; and an energy supply means (240) electrically coupled to at least one of said electronic components (130) for supplying energy upon connection of said reusable part (100) and said disposable part (200).