Wearable Mechanical Insulin Pump with Dual Chamber
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical injection systems for diabetes management, such as multiple daily injections (MDIs) and insulin pump therapy, face challenges including patient discomfort, adverse effects from repeated injections, and the cost and complexity of electromechanical devices, making it difficult for patients to adhere to basal-bolus therapy effectively.
Innovation Solution
A mechanical injection pump designed to deliver both basal and bolus insulin using a wearable device with separate fluid chambers and button drives, allowing for manual pressure application to dispense predetermined volumes of insulin without electricity, providing a discreet and cost-effective solution for diabetes management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If electromechanical insulin pump therapy is used to deliver continuous and accurate fluid delivery, then pumping accuracy and reliability are improved, but device complexity, cost, and size increase due to required actuators, batteries, and electronics
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the electromechanical pumping system with a purely mechanical syringe-based delivery system. The syringe mechanism uses a plunger and barrel arrangement that can be actuated manually or mechanically, eliminating the need for complex electronic actuators, microprocessors, and power sources while maintaining accurate fluid delivery capability through mechanical precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and removes the electronic and electromechanical components (actuators, batteries, electronics) from the insulin pump system, retaining only the essential mechanical syringe delivery mechanism. This extraction simplifies the device while preserving the core function of accurate fluid delivery through a reduced mechanical subsystem.
2Ease of operation
If mechanical insulin pens are used for multiple daily injections, then ease of operation is improved, but device size becomes large and bulky making them less discreet and discouraging regular use
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the insulin delivery system into separate functional components: a compact mechanical actuation mechanism, a separate syringe cartridge containing the insulin, and a delivery needle. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently, resulting in a smaller overall device volume while maintaining ease of operation through modular assembly and disassembly.
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 mechanical injection pump enables patients to self-administer insulin efficiently and comfortably, overcoming the limitations of existing systems by providing a user-friendly, cost-effective, and electromechanical device-free method for managing diabetes through basal-bolus therapy.
Implementation Method 1
Force by the user on the button drive is converted to increased pressure within the fluid chamber to drive a predetermined volume of the fluid from the fluid chamber
Data Source
AI summary
A mechanical injection pump wearable by a user to deliver a first fluid and a second fluid, including: a pump body having a first fluid chamber to hold the first fluid and a second fluid chamber to hold the second fluid; a common connector having a first inlet, a second inlet, and a common outlet; a first fluid system including the first fluid chamber, a first button drive connected to the first fluid chamber, and first fluid delivery path between the first fluid chamber and the first inlet; and a second fluid system including the second fluid chamber, a second button drive connected to the second fluid chamber, and second fluid delivery path between the second fluid chamber and the second inlet. Force by the user on the button drive increases pressure within the fluid chamber to drive a predetermined volume of the fluid from the fluid chamber.