Pellet implanter for animal treatment

• US 4,077,406 A
• Filed: 06/24/1976
• Issued: 03/07/1978
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/1976
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: American Colloid Company (Minerals Technologies Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: American Colloid Company (Minerals Technologies Incorporated)
• Inventors: Taylor, Arthur Sinclair, Sandhage, Ellsworth Roland
• Primary Examiner(s): Truluck, Dalton L.
• Application Number:
  US05/699,739
• Time in Patent Office: 621 Days
• Field of Search: 128/217, 128/264, 124/45
• US Class Current: 604/61
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 37/0069 Devices for implanting pellets, e.g. markers or solid medicaments for introducing of radioactive sources for interstitial radiation therapy, i.e. brachytherapy A61N5/1027

Abstract

A pellet implanter for the subcutaneous implantation of one or more spherical or cylindrical pellets of a total size of up to about 1/8 inch by 1 inch (3 mm × 25 mm) through a hypodermic needle uses a transparent compact flat cartridge having parallel feed chambers permitting visual observation of the feed and 360° rotation of the cartridge holder with respect to the pistol grip and plunger assembly. A collet holds a replaceable injection needle which permits injection of therapeutic agents in repository form beneath the skin of animals for therapeutic and/or growth control purposes.

Claims

1. A pellet implanter for implanting at least one solid pellet in a selected location beneath the skin of a domestic animal comprising:

a two-piece main frame having a functionally integral pistol grip, a plunger slide groove in said main frame, a reciprocating plunger slide sliding in said plunger slide groove, a plunger fixed with relationship to said plunger slide which plunger is retractable into said main frame and extendable from the front of said main frame, an operating trigger pivotally attached to said main frame, a connecting link means between said operating trigger and said plunger slide to move the plunger slide forward on pulling the trigger, a biasing spring to move the plunger slide rearwardly on release of the trigger, and a hollow cylindrical magazine receiver clamping sleeve, having a retaining ring, in the front of the main frame;

a C-shaped magazine receiver, having therein a magazine feed slot which is adapted to receive and hold a magazine, said slot being generally rectangular, but having one corner larger than the others and thereby adapted to receive a magazine in only one orientation, said magazine feed slot having lips adapted to hold a magazine in location and having a gap between the lips adapted to expose the major portion of one face of a magazine, a cylindrical boss, having a retaining groove, integral with the magazine receiver, which boss fits into and is held by said clamping sleeve, said retaining ring and said retaining groove permitting rotation of the magazine receiver with respect to the main frame on slight loosening of the clamping sleeve, and complete disassembly on further loosening of the clamping sleeve, a positioning detent in the magazine receiver adapted to control the movement of a magazine along its axis, a hypodermic needle holding collet on the other side of the magazine receiver, and a hypoderic needle in said collet, the plunger, the clamping sleeve, the cylindrical boss, the collet and the hypodermic needle being coaxial, and adapted to be in alignment with a pellet chamber in a magazine in the magazine receiver.

2. The pellet implanter of claim 1 having in the magazine receiver a flat multichambered magazine, said magazine comprising a flat transparent magazine, having therein a series of uniformly spaced parallel chambers, each chamber having therein at least one solid pellet adapted for implantation into a domestic animal, and at the end of each chamber adjacent to the pistol grip, a concentric restriction, of such size as to admit the plunger, but small enough to retain the pellet in the chamber, and at the other end of the chambers, a cover clip that fits over the end of the multichambered cartridge, having coaxial with each chamber a pellet discharge aperture large enough to permit the discharge of the pellets, but having flexible pellet retaining leaves in said discharge aperture to retain each pellet in the chamber until positively displaced by movement of the plunger, said clip having one enlarged face to cooperate with the magazine feed slot, so that the magazine enters with the magazine feed slot in only one orientation, and a series of grooves in the magazine to cooperate with the positioning detent and index the magazine for the discharge of each pellet, in turn, through the hypodermic needle.