Method and apparatus for the injection of pharmaceuticals

• US 4,650,475 A
• Filed: 07/18/1985
• Issued: 03/17/1987
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/1985
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Denise Pezzullo, Smith, Carol
• Original Assignee: Denise Pezzullo, Smith, Carol
• Inventors: Smith, Carol, Pezzullo, Denise
• Primary Examiner(s): NOT, DEFINED
• Assistant Examiner(s): Rooney, Mark
• Application Number:
  US06/756,108
• Time in Patent Office: 607 Days
• Field of Search: 128/771, 604/411-415, 604/189, 604/110, 604/283, 604/905, 138/104
• US Class Current: 604/189
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 1/201 having one piercing end
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 1/2096 Combination of a vial and a syringe for transferring or mixing their contents
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2205/00 General identification or selection means
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2205/20 Colour codes
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 604/905 Aseptic connectors or couplings, e.g. frangible, piercable

Abstract

A penetrator for fully draining the liquid in multi-dose vials when drawing liquid into a syringe is disclosed. The apparatus also provides a cuff and a sleeve that are encoded for preventing misidentification of the contents of a syringe by identifying the syringe with the vial from which the contents of the syringe were drawn. The cuff is mounted on the penetrator and the sleeve is mounted on the port end of the syringe, so that a mismatch between the cuff and sleeve is readily detected when the port end of the syringe is attached to the penetrator to withdraw liquid from the vial.

Claims

1. Injection apparatus for use with a syringe having a port end through which liquid is drawn into the syringe and a container of a liquid pharmaceutical having an outlet that supplies the liquid to the syringe, said apparatus comprising:

means mounted on the outlet of the container for encoding the container, said means having distinctive coding that distinguishes the container from other containers; and

a sleeve sized to be selectably and securely mounted on the syringe by being slipped onto the port end of the syringe, so that said sleeve is proximate to said means when the liquid is withdrawn into the syringe through the outlet, said sleeve being permanently encoded such that coding on said sleeve matches coding on said means,

whereby the source of the liquid in the syringe can be readily identified and whereby the coding on said encoding means and on said sleeve can be readily compared when the liquid is supplied to the syringe, so that errors producing a misidentification of the liquid in the syringe are eliminated;

thereby providing clear, reliable and economical means for identifying the liquid contained in such syringe.

2. Injection apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said means for encoding the container comprises a penetrator that is inserted into the outlet of the container and is sized to be connected to the port end of the syringe, said penetrator having distinctive coding that distinguishes the container in which said penetrator is inserted from other containers.

4. Injection apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein said penetrator is permanently encoded.

3. Injection apparatus for use with a syringe and a penetrator adapted to be inserted in the outlet of a container of a liquid pharmaceutical, said apparatus comprising:

a cuff mounted securely on the distal end of the penetrator, said cuff being permanently encoded, said cuff having distinctive coding thereon that distinguishes the container in which the penetrator is inserted from other containers; and

a sleeve sized to be selectably and securely mounted on the syringe by being slipped onto the port end of the syringe, so that said sleeve is proximate to said cuff when the liquid is drawn into the syringe through the penetrator, said sleeve being permanently encoded such that coding on said sleeve matches said distinctive coding on said cuff,

whereby the source of the liquid in the syringe can be readily identified and whereby said cuff and said sleeve are brought into proximity when the liquid is drawn into the syringe through the penetrator, so that errors producing a misidentification of the liquid in the syringe are eliminated.

thereby providing clear, reliable and economical means for identifying the liquid contained in the syringe.

5. A method for identifying the liquid withdrawn from the outlet of a container into a syringe having a port end through which liquid is drawn into the syringe, to assure correct use of pharmaceuticals, said method comprising the steps of:

encoding the outlet of the container from which the liquid is to be withdrawn with distinctive coding that distinguishes the container from other containers;

selecting a syringe for injecting said liquid;

slipping a permanently encoded sleeve on the port end of said syringe, said sleeve being sized to be thus selectably and securely mounted thereon, said sleeve being encoded such that coding on said sleeve matches said distinctive coding on the container that distinguishes the container;

applying said port end of said syringe to said encoded container to draw said liquid into said syringe; and

comparing said coding on the container with said coding on said sleeve while the liquid is being drawn into said syringe, whereby errors producing a misidentification of the liquid in the syringe are eliminated,

thereby providing clear, reliable and economical means for identifying the liquid contained in said syringe.

6. The method claimed in claim 5 wherein said step of encoding the container comprises the steps of:

inserting a proximal portion of a penetrator into the container, the distal portion of said penetrator having said distinctive coding thereon.

7. The method claimed in claim 5 wherein the step of encoding the container comprises the steps of:

inserting the proximal portion of the penetrator into the container; and

mounting a permanently encoded cuff on the distal portion of said penetrator, said cuff having said distinctive coding thereon.

8. Injection apparatus for use with a syringe having a port end through which liquid is drawn into the syringe and a container of a liquid, said container having distinctive coding mounted on the outlet thereof that supplies liquid to the syringe, said coding distinguishing the contents of the container, said apparatus comprising:

a sleeve sized to be selectably and securely mounted on said port end of the syringe by slipping said sleeve onto said port end; and

coding permanently affixed to said sleeve and matching coding on the outlet of the container, whereby the container from which the liquid in the syringe was withdrawn can be readily identified and whereby the coding on the encoding means and on said sleeve can be readily compared when the liquid is supplied to the syringe, so that errors producing a misidentification of the liquid in the syringe are eliminated,

thereby providing a clear, reliable and economical means for identifying the liquid contained in the syringe.