Needleless drug injection device
First Claim
1. A drug injector configured to inject a drug to a depth beneath an animal'"'"'s skin comprising:
- a chamber for holding a drug to be injected into a biological body;
a nozzle in fluid communication with the chamber, the drug being injected though the nozzle;
a piston positioned within the chamber; and
an actuator coupled to the piston, the actuator including a member that contracts when a potential is applied to the member, the actuator moving the piston towards the nozzle when the potential is applied to the member to expel the drug out of the chamber through the nozzle, thereby delivering the drug to a depth beneath an animal'"'"'s skin.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A drug injector includes a chamber for holding a drug to be injected into a biological body, and an nozzle through which the drug is injected. A piston is positioned in the chamber, and an actuator is coupled to the piston. The actuator includes a member that contracts when heated. In some embodiments, heating of the member is induced by applying a potential to the member. The actuator moves the piston towards the nozzle when the member is heated to expel the drug out of the chamber through the nozzle. The drug injector can include a sensor for measuring properties, such as stiffness, of the outer layer of the body. Further, the drug injector can adjust the piston movement based on the sensed properties. Alternatively, the sensor can be used with other medical devices, such as microneedle transport devices.
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Citations
35 Claims
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1. A drug injector configured to inject a drug to a depth beneath an animal'"'"'s skin comprising:
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a chamber for holding a drug to be injected into a biological body;
a nozzle in fluid communication with the chamber, the drug being injected though the nozzle;
a piston positioned within the chamber; and
an actuator coupled to the piston, the actuator including a member that contracts when a potential is applied to the member, the actuator moving the piston towards the nozzle when the potential is applied to the member to expel the drug out of the chamber through the nozzle, thereby delivering the drug to a depth beneath an animal'"'"'s skin. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A drug injector configured to inject a drug to a depth beneath an animal'"'"'s skin comprising:
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a housing;
a vial positioned within the housing, the vial holding a drug to be injected into a biological body;
a nozzle associated with the housing through which the drug is injected;
a piston positioned within the housing; and
an actuator coupled to the piston, the actuator including a member of shape memory alloy, the actuator moving the piston towards the nozzle of the vial when a potential is applied to the member to expel the drug out of the vial through the nozzle, thereby delivering the drug to a depth beneath an animal'"'"'s skin. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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19. A drug injector configured to inject a drug to a depth beneath an animal'"'"'s skin comprising:
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a housing;
a vial positioned within the housing, the vial holding a drug to be injected into a biological body;
a nozzle associated with the vial through which the drug is injected;
a piston positioned within the housing;
an actuator coupled to the piston, the actuator including a member of shape memory alloy, the actuator moving the piston towards the nozzle of the vial when a potential is applied to the member to expel the drug out of the vial through the nozzle;
a skin sensor that measures skin properties of the body; and
a servo-controller coupled to the actuator and the skin sensor, the servo-controller adjusting the injection pressure of the drug injector based on the skin properties.
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20. A method of injecting a drug into a biological body comprising:
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holding a drug in a chamber, the chamber being in fluid communication with an nozzle through which the drug is injected;
applying a potential to a member of an actuator, the member contracting upon the application of the potential, the actuator being coupled to a piston, the actuator moving the piston towards the nozzle when the potential is applied to the member; and
expelling the drug from the chamber through the nozzle as the piston moves towards the chamber. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A method of injecting a drug into a biological body comprising:
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positioning a drug vial in a housing, the vial containing a drug to be injected into the body, and having an nozzle through which the drug is injected;
applying a potential to a member of shape memory alloy, the member forming part of an actuator coupled to a piston positioned in the housing, the actuator moving the piston towards the nozzle when the potential is applied to the member; and
expelling the drug from the vial through the nozzle as the piston moves towards the nozzle. - View Dependent Claims (35)
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Specification