System and method for microdose injection

Inventors

Shluzas, Alan E.

Assignees

Credence Medsystems • Credence Medsystems Inc

Abstract

A system for injecting includes a syringe body, a syringe interior, a syringe flange, and a stopper member and an injectable fluid disposed in the syringe interior. The system also includes a plunger member coupled to the stopper member. The system further includes a finger flange removably coupled to the syringe flange, the finger flange defining a pair of side openings and a pair of bumps adjacent respective side openings. Moreover, the system also includes a swing spacer rotatably coupled to the finger flange, the swing spacer defining a pair of arms, a pair of pivot pins, two pairs of slots, and a pair of indentations. The swing spacer is configured to define a distance of movement of the plunger member relative to the syringe body along a longitudinal axis of the syringe body, thereby defining a dose of the injectable fluid.

Core Innovation

The disclosure relates to a microdose injection system in which a syringe body contains an injectable fluid and a stopper member coupled to a plunger member. A finger flange is removably coupled to the syringe flange and defines a pair of side openings and a pair of bumps adjacent the respective side openings. A swing spacer is rotatably coupled to the finger flange and defines a pair of arms, a pair of pivot pins, two pairs of slots, and a pair of indentations.

The swing spacer defines a distance of movement of the plunger member relative to the syringe body along a longitudinal axis, thereby defining a dose of the injectable fluid. The swing spacer is operable in an aligned configuration and an askew configuration relative to the longitudinal axis of the syringe body. Depending on configuration, the swing spacer defines whether distal movement of the plunger member is limited or not limited, controlling the dose-defining plunger travel distance.

The system includes retention features in which aligned slots and askew slots removably retain the swing spacer in the corresponding aligned or askew configuration by interfering with the bumps on the finger flange. A method portion describes moving the swing spacer while expelling gas through a distal needle interface, followed by dose delivery by moving the swing spacer to the askew injection configuration and advancing the plunger to a predefined stop distance until stop contacts occur, resulting in a completed configuration.

Claims Coverage

The partial content includes two independent claims. The claims cover a rotatable swing spacer that defines dose by controlling plunger movement relative to the syringe body along a longitudinal axis, and a corresponding method in which the swing spacer is moved from an aligned configuration to an askew configuration and a distally directed force on the plunger expels fluid through a distal needle interface.

Across the independent claims, the central inventive coverage is the use of a rotatable swing spacer coupled to a finger flange with aligned and askew configurations and slot-and-bump retention, where the swing spacer geometry sets dose by defining the distance of plunger movement and is implemented during injection by transitioning the swing spacer from aligned to askew while applying a distally directed force to expel fluid through a distal needle interface.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications