Self-Powered Syringe Driver for Precise Viscous-Fluid Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current syringe and needle systems compromise fine motor skills and positional accuracy during the delivery of fluids, particularly for viscous fluids, requiring high hand strength and making it difficult to maintain precise control over flow rate and needle positioning.
Innovation Solution
A self-powered syringe driver that uses gas pressure to pressurize an incompressible fluid, which drives a downstream actuator to push the syringe plunger, allowing for precise control of fluid delivery through a variable flow control valve, and includes features like a flow controller, actuator, and a self-contained energy source.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stress or pressure
If a clinician manually presses the syringe plunger to deliver viscous fluids, then high delivery pressure is achieved, but fine position control and flow rate control are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a self-powered driver device as an intermediary between the clinician and the syringe plunger. This driver includes a motor assembly that converts electrical energy to mechanical motion, driving the plunger with precise control. The motor assembly acts as a mediator that translates the clinician's activation input into controlled plunger movement, enabling both high delivery pressure for viscous fluids and fine position control simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The driver device is designed to autonomously control plunger movement once activated. The motor assembly self-regulates the plunger's position and speed based on programmed parameters, eliminating the need for continuous manual intervention. This self-service capability allows the system to maintain precise position control while delivering fluids at required pressures without requiring the clinician to simultaneously manage both pressure and position.
2Ease of operation
If a clinician uses the same hand to position the syringe and control flow, then operational simplicity is maintained, but fine motor skills and gross motor skills conflict
Solution Approach 1:
The driver device serves as an intermediary that separates the positioning function from the flow control function. The clinician uses one hand to hold and position the syringe-needle assembly while the driver's motor assembly independently controls plunger movement and flow rate. This mediator eliminates the conflict between fine motor skills needed for positioning and gross motor skills needed for flow control, allowing each hand to perform its specialized function without interference.
3Stress or pressure
If manual plunger actuation is used for viscous fluids, then high delivery pressure is achieved, but fine flow rate control becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The motor assembly in the driver device autonomously manages plunger actuation with precise speed and position control. Once the clinician activates the device, the motor self-regulates to maintain the programmed flow rate while generating sufficient force to deliver viscous fluids at high pressure. This self-service capability eliminates the difficulty of manually controlling flow rate while maintaining high pressure for viscous materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical system of direct plunger actuation with an automated motor-driven system. The motor assembly converts electrical energy to controlled mechanical motion, providing precise control over plunger speed and position. This substitution enables fine flow rate control through electronic regulation of motor speed, while the motor's torque capability maintains high delivery pressure for viscous fluids, overcoming the limitations of manual mechanical actuation.
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
Enables high delivery pressures for viscous fluids with fine control over flow rate and position, reducing the need for resterilization and minimizing cross-contamination, while providing flexibility in syringe and needle configurations.
Implementation Method 1
uses gas pressure to pressurize a substantially incompressible fluid
Implementation Method 2
The flow of the pressurized, incompressible fluid is used to drive a downstream actuator that pushes the syringe plunger
Implementation Method 3
The speed of delivery may be modulated by controlling the flow of fluid through a variable flow control valve
Implementation Method 4
Since the fluid is substantially incompressible, the speed of the actuator may be assumed to be directly proportional to the flow of fluid through the controller and there is no potential energy stored in the fluid
Data Source
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AI summary
Devices and methods are provided for delivering fluid into a patient's body. In an exemplary embodiment, the device may include a syringe cartridge and a syringe driver that may be coupled to the cartridge. The cartridge may include a housing including a proximal end, a distal end, and defining an interior, the cartridge further including a piston slidably disposed within the interior for delivering fluid within the interior through a port in the distal end. The driver may include a plunger for advancing the piston within the interior of the housing, a source of pressurized fluid, a valve, and an actuator member coupled to the valve for selectively opening a flow path from the source to the plunger to control flow of the pressurized fluid to advance the plunger to deliver fluid from the interior of the housing at a desired rate.