Syringe Adapter Preventing IV Misuse via Unidirectional Engagement
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Solution Overview
Problem
IV syringes can be misused for enteral feeding, leading to dangerous consequences due to the risk of substances being injected directly into a patient's vein, as they lack a mechanism to prevent conversion for safe enteral use.
Innovation Solution
A syringe adapter and cap assembly that securely engages with the syringe in a unidirectional manner, allowing for enteral feeding while preventing IV use by ensuring the adapter cannot be removed and creating a seal for fluid egress.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If an IV syringe is designed with a threaded end for IV applications, then it can be used for intravenous injection, but it can be misused for enteral feeding which leads to dangerous consequences
Solution Approach 1:
The adapter is designed to be easily removable from the syringe body, but the syringe plunger cannot be removed from the adapter once inserted. This inverted removal constraint ensures that while the adapter can be detached for proper disposal, the syringe system becomes permanently unusable for IV injection after adapter attachment, preventing reuse for dangerous IV applications
Solution Approach 2:
The adapter is designed as a single-use, disposable component that is attached to the syringe for enteral feeding and then discarded. This ensures that the syringe-adapter assembly cannot be reused for IV applications, eliminating the risk of misuse while maintaining syringe functionality for its intended enteral purpose
2Object-affected harmful factors
If an adapter is designed to be permanently engaged to the syringe for enteral feeding, then IV misuse is prevented, but the adapter must be removable for proper disposal
Solution Approach 1:
The adapter employs asymmetric engagement mechanisms where the plunger is permanently constrained within the adapter body through internal features such as frangible barriers or deformation elements, while the adapter exterior maintains a simple threaded connection that can be easily unscrewed from the syringe for disposal
Solution Approach 2:
The adapter is segmented into distinct functional zones: an easily removable outer section that threads onto the syringe, and an inner section with permanent plunger engagement features. This segmentation allows differential removal characteristics where the adapter can be detached from the syringe but the plunger remains permanently trapped within the adapter
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the adapter mating mechanism resists rotation in the second direction to prevent removal, then IV misuse is prevented, but the mechanism to achieve this resistance increases device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The complex anti-rotation and removal prevention features are extracted from the adapter-syringe interface and concentrated solely in the adapter-plunger interaction. The adapter-syringe connection remains a simple threaded engagement, while all complexity is contained within the plunger engagement mechanism inside the adapter body
Solution Approach 2:
The adapter acts as an intermediary component that introduces complexity only where needed (in the plunger engagement mechanism) while maintaining simplicity at the syringe interface. This intermediary structure allows the syringe to remain unchanged and simple, while the adapter handles all the complex constraints internally
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus for a syringe adapter. In one embodiment, an adapter/cap assembly is threadably engaged to a syringe for enteral feeding applications. The adapter cannot be removed from the syringe to prevent the syringe from being used for IV applications.