Separable Hub Post Pen Needle Reduces Sharps Waste
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medication delivery pens generate large sharps waste, limiting the capacity of sharps containers and posing a risk of biohazardous aerosol particle generation when separating needles from hub bodies, as existing methods disturb the drug fluid path.
Innovation Solution
A pen needle design where the hub post and needle are separable from the hub body without disturbing the fluid path, allowing for the entire needle to be removed with the post, reducing waste volume and increasing container capacity through a sharps separating device with an inlet port and blade assembly that cuts the hub post from the hub body without cutting the needle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the entire pen needle (hub body + hub post + needle) is disposed of as sharps waste, then the disposal process is simple, but the sharps container capacity is limited and waste volume is large
Solution Approach 1:
The pen needle is divided into three separate components: hub body, hub post, and needle. The hub post is designed to be separable from the hub body through a breakaway section, allowing the needle and hub post to be removed and disposed of separately from the reusable hub body. This segmentation reduces the volume of sharps waste requiring disposal while maintaining simple disposal procedures for the sharp components.
2Ease of operation
If the needle is separated from the hub body by cutting or disturbing the fluid path, then the separation can be achieved, but biohazardous aerosol particles may be generated
Solution Approach 1:
The needle is extracted from the hub body as a complete assembly by removing the hub post along with the attached needle. The breakaway section is designed to separate the hub post from the hub body without cutting or disturbing the needle or fluid path, thereby preventing generation of biohazardous aerosol particles while achieving successful separation.
Solution Approach 2:
The hub post is pre-designed with a breakaway section that is intended to separate first during the removal process. This preliminary separation action allows the needle and hub post to be pulled out together as an intact assembly before any potential cutting or disturbance of the fluid path could occur.
3Quantity of substance
If the hub post is made separable from the hub body, then waste volume is reduced, but the connection reliability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The hub post features a localized breakaway section with reduced wall thickness specifically designed for separation, while the rest of the hub post maintains full structural integrity and connection reliability. The breakaway section is positioned away from the needle attachment point, ensuring that the needle-hub post connection remains strong and reliable during use, while still allowing separation from the hub body when needed.
Data Source
AI summary
A pen needle (101) for use with a drug delivery device (100) includes a hub body (113) having internal threads (216) to receive the drug delivery device (100). A post (121) is connected to the hub body (113). A needle (103) is rigidly fixed to the post (121). The post (121) is separable from the hub body (113) such that the needle (103) is removed with the post (121). The fluid path is not disturbed by such removal because the entire needle (103) is removed with the post (121). Removal of only the post (121) and needle (103) reduces the volume of waste required for disposal, thereby increasing the effective capacity of a sharps container.