Single-use medicine delivery unit for needleless hypodermic injector
US5938637A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 14, 1997 |
| Grant date | Aug 17, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 14, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61M5/50
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A disposable medicine delivery unit for use in a needleless hypodermic injector is configured to allow economical replacement, after each injection, of a patient contact surface and the entire injection flow-path of the medicament, to thereby ensure sterility with less need for repeated equipment cleaning and sterilization procedures. The delivery unit includes a piston seal configured to prevent improper reuse. The piston seal deforms and sticks in a conical end of the medicine delivery chamber at the end of its injection stroke. A push-only connection between the piston seal and a piston drive rod of the injector ensures that the latter cannot be used to retract the former. Preferably, the piston seal also includes a protruding nipple which enters and destroys the injection orifice following an injection, to further disable the delivery unit.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.