Pump mechanism with double reservoir and stationary fluid ports

Inventors

KAMRAVA, Soroush • BREINGAN, KYLE • McCaffrey, Maureen • Barnes, Jeffrey

Assignees

Insulet Corp

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a double reservoir configuration for a pumping mechanism for a drug delivery device wherein one reservoir is rigidly fixed to a housing of the device and the other reservoir moves linearly translates with respect to the fixed reservoir. To avoid having either the input fluid port or the output fluid port moves as the second reservoir linearly translates, one port is in fluid communication with the fixed reservoir and a second fluid port is in communication with the moving reservoir via a hollow tube supporting a static plunger disposed within the moving reservoir. This arrangement provides for the added benefit of allowing air trapped within either of the reservoirs to be almost completely removed as the pump mechanism is filled with the fluid.

Core Innovation

The disclosure describes a double-reservoir drug pump for a drug delivery system that includes an outer reservoir and an inner reservoir. The inner reservoir is configured to be positionable and linearly translatable within the outer reservoir, while the pumping mechanism includes a needle or cannula and a static plunger. A hollow plunger tube supports the static plunger and includes an internal fluidic path extending between the inner reservoir and the outer reservoir.

For air management during filling and dispensing, the system includes a dispense port and a fill port. The dispense port receives the liquid drug from the reservoirs via the hollow plunger tube, and the dispense port includes a structure positioned in the hollow plunger tube that extends between the needle or cannula and the inner reservoir to provide a path to remove air from the inner reservoir. The fill port receives the liquid drug to be stored, with the liquid drug being transported from the fill port to the inner reservoir via the hollow plunger tube.

In the described arrangement, the outer reservoir and the inner reservoir exchange liquid drug while the inner reservoir linearly translates. The hollow plunger tube and its internal fluidic path enable the dispense and fill operations to be carried out with the air removal path configured through the hollow plunger tube between the needle or cannula and the inner reservoir. The document further discusses example embodiments where port placement is maintained through a device wall while the inner reservoir moves, including an arrangement enabling drug passage between reservoirs through structural features such as an end wall.

Claims Coverage

The provided independent claims cover a drug delivery system/device that uses a needle or cannula, an outer reservoir and a linearly translating inner reservoir, a static plunger, and a hollow plunger tube with an internal fluidic path between the reservoirs, together with specific fill and dispense port structures to provide a path to remove air from the inner reservoir. Two independent claims are present in the partial content: one framed as a drug delivery system and one framed as a drug delivery device with a rigidly attached outer reservoir.

Across the independent claims, the core coverage combines a hollow plunger tube with an internal fluidic path between an inner reservoir and an outer reservoir, a dispense port whose structure is positioned in the hollow plunger tube to provide a path to remove air from the inner reservoir, and a fill port that transports drug to the inner reservoir via the hollow plunger tube, while the inner reservoir linearly translates and a static plunger is included.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications