Patent · US Expired

Capsule for medical use

US4239040A · kind A · utility

137Cited by
5References
9Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateOct 13, 1977
Grant dateDec 16, 1980
Priority date
Expiry dateOct 13, 1997

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
  • CPC primaryA61M31/002
  • WIPO fieldMedical technology
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

A capsule for discharging drugs into a live body or collecting samples from the body comprises an external cylinder having slidably mounted therein an internal cylinder. The internal cylinder is retained by a meltable thread at one end of the external cylinder against the biasing force of a compression spring and upon melting of the thread, the spring effects sliding of the internal cylinder to the other end of the external cylinder and during this sliding movement, a drug is pushed out of the external cylinder ahead of the moving internal cylinder or a body sample is withdrawn into the external cylinder behind the moving internal cylinder. An electric circuit including a tunable receiver responds to an externally transmitted electric signal to energize a heater for melting the thread to thereby effect sliding movement of the internal cylinder at the desired time.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.