Pharmaceutical cartridge assembly and method of filling same
First Claim
1. A filled cartridge for mixing pharmaceutical constituents therewithin, the cartridge comprising:
- a hollow tube, the hollow tube having a wall and opposed first and second ends;
a bypass portion formed in the wall intermediate the first and second ends, the bypass portion comprising at least one inward deformation of the wall;
a first piston disposed within the hollow tube between the bypass portion and the first end;
a second piston disposed within the hollow tube away from the bypass portion and toward the first end so that the first and second pistons define a first chamber therebetween;
a first constituent disposed in the first chamber;
a closure disposed at least partially within the second end so that the first piston and the closure define a second chamber therebetween; and
a second constituent disposed in the second chamber;
wherein the first and second pistons are movable within the hollow tube and wherein, when the first piston is received within the bypass portion, at least one bypass channel is formed between the first piston and the wall, thereby allowing fluid communication between the first and second chambers for mixing the first and second constituents.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Embodiments of the invention relate generally to cartridges, devices and methods for pharmaceutical constituents for storage, mixing and delivery. Particular embodiments relate to a device and method for pharmaceutical constituent mixing and delivery using a double-chambered cartridge within a socket member, for use as part of a syringe device. Other embodiments relate to a cartridge assembly for storing the pharmaceutical constituents prior to mixing and a method of forming the cartridge assembly. Still further embodiments relate to an extensible plunger for actuation of the delivery device. The extensible plunger is actuated in a first stroke while in its retracted state to mix the constituents and is actuated in a second stroke in its extended state to deliver the mixed constituents to an external volume.
162 Citations
62 Claims
-
1. A filled cartridge for mixing pharmaceutical constituents therewithin, the cartridge comprising:
-
a hollow tube, the hollow tube having a wall and opposed first and second ends;
a bypass portion formed in the wall intermediate the first and second ends, the bypass portion comprising at least one inward deformation of the wall;
a first piston disposed within the hollow tube between the bypass portion and the first end;
a second piston disposed within the hollow tube away from the bypass portion and toward the first end so that the first and second pistons define a first chamber therebetween;
a first constituent disposed in the first chamber;
a closure disposed at least partially within the second end so that the first piston and the closure define a second chamber therebetween; and
a second constituent disposed in the second chamber;
wherein the first and second pistons are movable within the hollow tube and wherein, when the first piston is received within the bypass portion, at least one bypass channel is formed between the first piston and the wall, thereby allowing fluid communication between the first and second chambers for mixing the first and second constituents. - View Dependent Claims (2)
-
-
3. A partially filled cartridge, the cartridge comprising:
-
a hollow tube, the hollow tube having a wall and opposed first and second ends;
a bypass portion formed in the wall intermediate the first and second ends, the bypass portion comprising at least one inward deformation of the wall;
a first piston disposed within the hollow tube between the bypass portion and the first end;
a second piston disposed within the hollow tube away from the bypass portion and toward the first end so that the first and second pistons define a first chamber therebetween; and
a first constituent disposed in the first chamber;
wherein the first and second pistons are movable within the hollow tube and wherein, when the first piston is received within the bypass portion, at least one bypass channel is formed between the first piston and the wall, thereby allowing fluid communication between the first chamber and a second chamber, the second chamber being defined by the first piston, the wall and the second end. - View Dependent Claims (4)
-
-
5. A method of forming a cartridge assembly, comprising the steps of:
-
providing a cartridge tube, the cartridge tube being hollow and having a wall, first and second ends and a bypass portion, the bypass portion being formed intermediate the first and second ends;
inserting a first piston in the cartridge tube intermediate the first end and the bypass portion;
orienting the cartridge tube so that the first end is upward of the second end;
filling a first constituent into the cartridge tube between the first piston and the first end;
inserting a second piston into the cartridge tube between the first constituent and the first end so that the first constituent is fluidly sealed between the first and second pistons; and
fitting the first end of the cartridge tube into a support cap to form a partially filled cartridge assembly, the support cap having a support footprint substantially larger than a tube footprint of the cartridge tube, whereby the cartridge tube can be transported in an upright manner while supported by the support cap. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
-
-
18. A method of assembling a filled cartridge, the method comprising:
-
forming at a first filling facility a partially filled cartridge, the partially filled cartridge defining a sealed first chamber containing a first constituent and an open second chamber;
transporting the partially filled cartridge to a second filling facility;
sterilizing the partially filled cartridge;
filling a second constituent into the second chamber; and
sealing the second chamber. - View Dependent Claims (19)
-
-
20. A method of forming a cartridge tube, comprising the steps of:
-
providing a hollow tube having a wall and first and second ends; and
deforming the wall inwardly from the outside of the hollow tube so as to form an inward deformation of an internal surface of the wall. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
-
-
28. A cartridge tube for a pharmaceutical cartridge, the cartridge tube comprising:
-
a hollow tube, the hollow tube having a wall and opposed first and second ends; and
a bypass portion formed in the wall intermediate the first and second ends, the bypass portion comprising at least one inward deformation of the wall. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52)
-
-
53. A method of forming a cartridge tube, comprising the steps of:
-
providing a hollow tube having a wall and first and second ends; and
deforming the wall inwardly from the outside of the hollow tube so as to form first and second inward deformations of an internal surface of the wall. - View Dependent Claims (54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62)
-
Specification