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Publication Number
US-11033675-B2
Publication Date
2021-06-15
Expiration Date
Abstract
A compact infusion device that is easily portable and inexpensive, can be used safely, and can provide a technique alternative to intravenous drip. The portable compact infusion device includes a fluid drive, a fluid holding portion, a drug solution holding channel, and a support, wherein the fluid drive includes a porous body that allows generation of electroosmotic flow and a pair of rubber electrodes each containing electroconductive material and having a communicating portion, the porous body being sandwiched between the communicating portions of the pair of rubber electrodes to form a sandwiched structure.
Core Innovation
The invention is a portable compact infusion device that includes a fluid drive, a fluid holding portion, a drug solution holding channel, and a support. The fluid drive uses a porous body that allows generation of electroosmotic flow and a pair of rubber electrodes, each containing electroconductive material and having a communicating portion, with the porous body sandwiched between the communicating portions of the pair of rubber electrodes to form a sandwiched structure.
The device further includes a fluid supply reservoir spatially in contact with the communicating portion of one rubber electrode in the sandwiched structure, or connected through a member having a space or a channel. On the other side, a drug solution holding channel is spatially in contact with the communicating portion of the other rubber electrode in the sandwiched structure, or connected through a member having a space or a channel, with a part of the drug solution holding channel directly or indirectly connectable to an injection needle.
The documented configuration is described as portable and disposable, using simple low-cost construction enabled by a power supply realized by sandwiching small button batteries between protruding electrode portions. The disclosed structure supports low weight construction, and stable drug delivery at nanoliter-scale flow rates without pulsation and without observed leakage is demonstrated.
Claims Coverage
The independent claim is clm-00001. It covers one inventive feature set centered on a portable compact infusion device built from an electroosmotic fluid-drive sandwiched structure, together with a fluid supply reservoir coupled to one electrode’s communicating portion and a drug solution channel coupled to the other electrode’s communicating portion for connection to an injection needle. The dependent claims add further refinements including communicating-hole geometry, fine channel width, drug holding capacity, overall device weight, and infusion performance without pulsation at nanoliter per minute flow rates.
Electroosmotic fluid-drive sandwiched porous-body structure with communicating rubber electrodes
A portable compact infusion device in which the fluid drive includes a porous body that allows generation of electroosmotic flow and a pair of rubber electrodes each containing electroconductive material and having a communicating portion, the porous body being sandwiched between the communicating portions of the pair of rubber electrodes to form a sandwiched structure.
Fluid supply reservoir coupled to communicating portion of one electrode in the sandwiched structure
A portable compact infusion device in which the fluid holding portion includes a fluid supply reservoir spatially in contact with the communicating portion of one of the rubber electrodes in the sandwiched structure or connected to the communicating portion of the one of the rubber electrodes in the sandwiched structure through a member having a space or a channel.
Drug solution holding channel coupled to communicating portion of the other electrode and connectable to an injection needle
A portable compact infusion device in which the drug solution holding channel is spatially in contact with the communicating portion of the other rubber electrode in the sandwiched structure or is connected to the communicating portion of the other rubber electrode in the sandwiched structure through a member having a space or a channel, and a part of the drug solution holding channel is directly or indirectly connectable to an injection needle.
Fine drug solution channel with limited maximum width and drug capacity
The drug solution holding channel is a fine channel with a maximum width of 1 mm or less and is configured to hold 0.01 to 4 mL of drug solution.
No-pulsation infusion at nanoliter-per-minute flow rates
The device performs infusion without pulsation at flow rates of 1 to 50 nL/min.
Overall device weight constraint for key components
The combined total weight of the fluid drive, fluid holding portion, drug solution holding channel, and support is 10 g or less.
Communicating-hole based contact geometry between communicating portions and porous body
Each rubber electrode’s communicating portion has a communicating hole, and the sandwiched structure has a peripheral edge of that communicating hole partially or entirely contacting the porous body.
Overall, the claim set centers on an electroosmotic fluid drive formed by sandwiching a porous body between communicating portions of a pair of electroconductive rubber electrodes, combined with a fluid supply reservoir coupled to one communicating portion and a drug solution holding channel coupled to the other communicating portion and connectable to an injection needle. Dependent features further narrow the communicating geometry, impose constraints on fine-channel width and drug holding volume, specify infusion without pulsation within a nanoliter-per-minute range, and limit overall device weight.
Stated Advantages
Prevents leakage without O-rings.
Enables stable drug delivery at nanoliter-scale flow rates without pulsation.
Allows portable, disposable, low-cost construction with low weight.
Documented Applications
Used as a portable compact infusion device for drug solution infusion to an injection needle via a drug solution holding channel and electroosmotic flow pump architecture.
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