Sterile Injector Probe Mechanism for Sealed Container Sampling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current injection devices are unable to transfer non-liquid bodily extracts into sealed culture bottles without opening the seal, risking contamination and altering the internal air pressure and composition.
Innovation Solution
A sterile injector with a probe and probe holder receivable within a hollow needle, allowing for the extension and retraction of the probe to inject non-liquid samples into sealed containers without contamination or pressure change, using a driving element for axial displacement to pierce and inject the sample into the container.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a culture bottle seal is opened to transfer non-liquid samples, then sample transfer is enabled, but contamination risk increases and internal air pressure changes
Solution Approach 1:
The probe is nested within the hollow needle, allowing the probe to be inserted into and removed from the sealed culture bottle through the needle's lumen. This nested configuration enables non-liquid sample transfer while maintaining the seal integrity, as the probe travels through the sealed pathway provided by the needle rather than requiring direct access to the bottle interior.
Solution Approach 2:
The hollow needle serves as an intermediary component between the external environment and the sealed culture bottle. It provides a sealed conduit through which the probe can transfer non-liquid samples without compromising the bottle's seal, thereby eliminating the need to open the seal while enabling sample transfer.
2Ease of operation
If a culture bottle seal is opened to transfer non-liquid samples, then sample transfer is enabled, but internal air pressure and composition change
Solution Approach 1:
The probe nested within the hollow needle creates a sealed transfer pathway that isolates the culture bottle's internal environment from external pressure changes. The needle acts as a pressure barrier, allowing sample transfer while maintaining the bottle's internal atmospheric conditions unchanged.
Solution Approach 2:
The hollow needle functions as a pressure-stabilizing intermediary, providing a sealed conduit that prevents air exchange between the external environment and the culture bottle interior during sample transfer, thereby maintaining stable internal pressure and composition.
3Ease of operation
If a syringe is used to inject liquid samples, then injection is simple and contamination risk is minimal, but non-liquid samples cannot be transferred
Solution Approach 1:
The probe is designed with flexible, deformable material that allows it to change shape and adapt to different sample types. When transferring non-liquid samples, the probe can deform to accommodate and transfer viscous or semi-solid materials, whereas traditional rigid syringes are limited to liquid samples.
Solution Approach 2:
The probe's physical parameters (flexibility, deformability) are specifically designed to accommodate non-liquid samples. The material properties and structural characteristics of the probe allow it to adapt its form factor based on the sample being transferred, enabling versatility across different sample types while maintaining ease of operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A sterile injector comprises a body having a cavity, a hollow needle positionable at a distal end of the injector, a probe holder receivable within the needle, a probe connected to a distal end of the holder, and a driving element axially displaceable within the cavity, for causing relative motion between the probe and the needle upon displacement of the driving element. A sample is injected into a sealed container by displacing the driving element to a first position causing the probe to extend from the needle, applying the extended probe with a sample, displacing the driving element to a second position causing the sample laden probe to be retracted within the needle, piercing a seal of a sealed container with the needle, and displacing the driving element to a third position distally spaced from the first position, after which the probe is injected into the container interior.