Connected health platform including needle-free injector system
Inventors
Philip, Mark • Anquetil, Patrick Armand • Hunter, Ian
Assignees
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Publication Number
US-11896805-B2
Publication Date
2024-02-13
Expiration Date
Abstract
A needle-free injector system includes a needle-free injector configured to deploy a dose of a treatment to a patient as an injection event, a gyroscope configured to monitor an orientation of the needle-free injector during the injection event, and a processor configured to perform steps of detecting that an actuator of the needle-free injector has deployed the dose in the injection event, monitoring a signal from the gyroscope during the injection event, determining an orientation of the needle-free injector during the injection event based on the signal from the gyroscope, determining whether the injection event was a treatment event including a successful delivery of the dose to the patient based on the orientation of the needle-free injector during the injection event, and transmitting information regarding the injection event to a server.
Core Innovation
The invention describes a needle-free injector system for deploying a dose of a treatment to a patient as an injection event, while monitoring operational and patient-interaction signals to infer whether the injection event corresponds to successful delivery of the dose. The system includes a gyroscope configured to monitor an orientation of the needle-free injector during the injection event and contact sensing configured to detect electric current at a treatment site and adjacent a handle of the needle-free injector.
A processor detects actuator deployment of the dose, determines orientation based on the gyroscope signal, detects an electrical circuit formed through the first contact sensor, the second contact sensor, and the patient’s body during the injection event, and determines whether the injection event was a treatment event including successful delivery based on the determined orientation and existence or non-existence of the electrical circuit. The system transmits injection-event information to a server, where additional determinations can be performed to derive likelihood and regimen-level compliance.
The invention further includes monitoring at least one ambient sensor to monitor an ambient condition of the needle-free injector during the injection event and to support a success-likelihood determination. Based on the ambient-sensor signals and the contact sensing signals, the system determines a likelihood that the dose was successfully delivered to the patient, can present patient instructions about the injection event, and can use ambient sensing to identify a low likelihood of successful delivery.
Claims Coverage
The independent claim set includes 2 independent claims (clm-00001 and clm-00007). Across these claims, the main inventive features cover orientation and patient electrical-circuit sensing to decide whether an injection event was a successful treatment delivery, and ambient-condition sensing combined with contact sensing to determine a likelihood of successful delivery for transmission to a server.
Gyroscope-based orientation and two contact sensors for circuit-based success determination
A needle-free injector system including a needle-free injector configured to deploy a dose as an injection event; a gyroscope configured to monitor orientation during the injection event; a first contact sensor detecting electric current at a treatment site on the patient; and a second contact sensor detecting electric current adjacent a handle; wherein a processor detects actuator deployment, monitors a gyroscope signal to determine injector orientation, detects an electrical circuit formed through the first contact sensor, the second contact sensor, and the patient’s body during the injection event, determines whether the injection event was a treatment event including successful delivery based on the determined orientation and the existence or non-existence of the electrical circuit, and transmits information regarding the injection event to a server.
Ambient condition sensing with contact sensing to determine likelihood of successful delivery
A needle-free injector system including a needle-free injector having at least one ambient sensor configured to monitor an ambient condition; a first contact sensor configured to detect contact with a treatment site on a patient; and a second contact sensor configured to detect electric current adjacent a handle; wherein a processor detects that an actuator has deployed a dose as an injection event; monitors a signal from the at least one ambient sensor during the injection event; detects, based on signals from the first and second contact sensors, a contact with the patient during the injection event; determines, based on the ambient-sensor signal during the injection event and the signal from the first contact sensor indicating whether the needle-free injector was in contact with the patient, a likelihood that the dose was successfully delivered to the patient; and transmits information to a server regarding the injection event.
Overall, the claims cover a needle-free injector system that transmits injection-event information to a server and uses sensor signals to decide success or compute a likelihood. clm-00001 anchors the decision on gyroscope-determined injector orientation together with the existence or non-existence of an electrical circuit through two contact sensors and the patient’s body. clm-00007 anchors a likelihood determination on ambient-condition signals together with contact sensing indicating whether the needle-free injector was in contact with the patient.
Stated Advantages
The system can derive likelihood of successful delivery and regimen-level compliance.
When the injection event is determined to be not a treatment event with successful delivery, the processor can transmit a notification to the patient’s device and/or the caregiver’s device.
Based on the determined likelihood, the system can present patient instructions about the injection event.
The disclosed approach can use ambient sensing to identify a low likelihood of successful delivery.
Documented Applications
Injection-event information can be transmitted to a server for additional determinations.
The server can receive patient treatment-event information over time and determine a patient’s compliance rate for a treatment regimen.
The server can send a message regarding administration of at least one treatment event to a device associated with the patient.
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