Front loading medical injector and syringe for use therewith

• US 5,741,232 A
• Filed: 12/23/1996
• Issued: 04/21/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Medrad Incorporated (Bayer AG)
• Original Assignee: Medrad Incorporated (Bayer AG)
• Inventors: Reilly, David M., Gelblum, Eugene A., Havrilla, Joseph B., Kazousky, Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): Rimell, Sam
• Application Number:
  US08/780,012
• Time in Patent Office: 484 Days
• Field of Search: 604/131, 604/134, 604/140, 604/143, 604/151, 604/152, 604/154, 604/218, 604/227, 604/228, 128/655
• US Class Current: 604/154
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2005/14553 comprising a pressure jacket
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/581 by audible feedback
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/582 by tactile feedback
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/583 by visual feedback
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/14546 Front-loading type injectors
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/14566 with a replaceable reservoir for receiving a piston rod of the pump
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/01 Motorized syringe

Abstract

A front-loading syringe which comprises a movable plunger for injecting liquid contrast media, is rotatably mountable on a front wall of an injector housing with an interference fit and in sealed relationship with respect thereto, with or without a pressure jacket, by a first-quick release mechanism. At the same time, the plunger is connected to an injector drive mechanism by a second readily releasable mechanism. During the mounting operation, a sensor reads injection information from an indicator device on the syringe and feeds it to an injector control. An audible-and-tactile indicating mechanism also is activated when the syringe is essentially in the desired mounted position. The syringe may include reinforcing ribs which also function as volumetric gradations, and liquid media presence-or-absence indicating dots which appear circular against a liquid media background and oval-shaped against an air background. An injection end of the syringe comprises an injector portion of reduced diameter inside a screw-threaded attachment portion of larger diameter, and may include loop-shaped reinforcing handle portions.

Claims

1. An injector for injecting a liquid from a syringe, said syringe including a plunger, said injector comprising:

a housing having a front wall;

readily releasable mounting means on said housing front wall for supporting the syringe for an injection operation, said readily releasable mounting means including retaining means for releasably engaging a retaining portion on the syringe;

drive means in said housing movable through said housing front wall for controlling the movement of the plunger in the syringe;

a tubular pressure jacket having a rearward end mounted on the front wall of said housing and having a forward open end for receiving the syringe therethrough for connection of the syringe plunger to said drive means;

said retaining means of said readily releasable mounting means being on said pressure jacket adjacent the forward open end thereof, with said retaining portion on the syringe also being adjacent a forward end thereof;

wherein said pressure jacket includes inner slotted means for receiving said retaining portion on the syringe therethrough, so that said syringe retaining portion and an inner surface of said retaining means on said pressure jacket can be engaged upon rotation of the syringe in said pressure jacket; and

stop means for preventing over-rotation of the syringe as the syringe is rotated into a mounted position.

2. An injector according to claim 1, further comprising sensor means on said housing for reading information from an encoding device on the syringe.

3. An injector according to claim 2, wherein said sensor means is associated with said readily releasable mounting means on said housing front wall.

4. An injector according to claim 2, wherein said sensor means comprises an optical reader.

5. An injector according to claim 2, wherein said sensor means comprises a switch.

6. An injector according to claim 1, wherein said readily releasable mounting means comprises at least a pair of slots for receiving the retaining portion on the syringe.

7. An injector system for injecting a liquid from a syringe, said injector system comprising:

a housing having a front wall;

readily releasable mounting means on said housing front wall for supporting the syringe for an injection operation, said readily releasable mounting means including retaining means for releasably engaging a retaining portion on the syringe;

drive means in said housing movable through said housing front wall for controlling the movement of the plunger in the syringe; and

audible-and-tactile and visual indicating means for detecting when the syringe has been mounted in a desired position on the front wall of said housing.

8. The injector as recited in claim 7, wherein said audible-and-tactile and visual indicating means comprises a slot or a projection associated with said housing, which cooperates with a syringe projection or a slot in the syringe, respectively, as the syringe is moved into a mounted position, with said slot having another projection therein engageable by said first-mentioned projection to provide an audible-and-tactile and visual indication.

9. The injector as recited in claim 7, which further comprises:

means for controlling the operation of said injector; and

sensor means for reading liquid media injection information from an indicator device on the syringe as the syringe is mounted on said housing front wall, and for feeding the information to said control means.

10. The injector as recited in claim 9, wherein said sensor means is for reading a bar code indicator device.

11. The injector as recited in claim 9, wherein said sensor means is for reading an indicator device in the form of a preselected pattern of raised and depressed portions.

12. A front-loading syringe for injecting a liquid media, which comprises:

an elongated cylindrical main body of relatively large uniform diameter;

readily releasable mounting means on said cylindrical main body for mounting the syringe in a desired position relative to a front wall of an injector housing;

a circumferentially extending and radially projecting sealing flange on said cylindrical main body in a spaced relationship from said readily releasable mounting means and cooperable therewith for mounting the syringe on the injector housing;

an injection section connected to a forward end of said cylindrical main body; and

a plunger movably mounted in said cylindrical main body for forcing the liquid media from the syringe through said injection section.

13. The front-loading syringe as recited in claim 12, wherein the circumferentially extending and radially projecting sealing flange on said cylindrical main body is adapted to engage an injector housing with an interference fit.

14. A syringe according to claim 12, further comprising an encoding device for providing data to a sensor.

15. A syringe according to claim 14, wherein the encoding device is a bar code device.

16. A syringe according to claim 14, wherein the encoding device comprises raised surfaces.

17. A syringe according to claim 14, wherein the encoding device comprises a mechanically readable device.

18. A syringe according to claim 14, wherein the encoding device comprises an optically readable device.

19. A front-loading syringe for injecting liquid media, which comprises:

an elongated cylindrical main body of relatively large uniform diameter;

readily releasable mounting means on said cylindrical main body for mounting the syringe in a desired position relative to a front wall of an injector housing;

an elongated injection section of relatively small diameter connected to a forward end of said cylindrical main body;

a plunger movably mounted in said cylindrical main body for forcing the liquid media from the syringe through said injection section; and

audible-and-tactile indicating means on said cylindrical main body for detecting when said syringe has been essentially located in a desired position relative to said injector housing front wall.

20. The front-loading syringe as recited in claim 19, wherein said audible-and-tactile indicating means includes a projection or slot adapted to cooperate with a slot or a projection, respectively, on the injector housing, said slot also including another projection engageable by said first-mentioned projection to provide an audible-and-tactile indication.

21. The front-loading syringe as recited in claim 19, which further comprises indicator means for providing liquid media injection information to a control system for an injector.

22. The front-loading syringe as recited in claim 21, wherein said indicator means is a bar code.

23. The front-loading syringe as recited in claim 21, wherein said indicator means is a preselected pattern of raised and depressed surface portions.

24. Apparatus for injecting liquid media, which comprises:

a front-loading syringe for holding the liquid media;

an injector housing having a front wall;

readily releasable mounting means for supporting said front-loading syringe on said housing front wall for an injection operation;

drive means movable through said housing front wall for controlling the movement of said plunger in said syringe;

a tubular pressure jacket having a rearward end mounted on the front wall of said housing and having a forward open end;

said syringe being insertable through the forward open end of said tubular pressure jacket into said jacket for connection to said drive means;

said readily releasable mounting means including at least one syringe retaining portion on said pressure jacket adjacent the forward open end thereof, and at least one mating syringe retaining portion on said syringe adjacent a forward end thereof;

wherein said pressure jacket includes inner slot means for receiving said at least one mating retaining portion on said syringe therethrough, so that said retaining portions can be interengaged upon relative rotation of said syringe in said pressure jacket; and

stop means for preventing over-rotation of the syringe as the syringe is rotated into a mounted position.

25. Apparatus according to claim 24, wherein said syringe comprises an encoding device and said injector comprises sensor means for reading information from said encoding device.

26. Apparatus according to claim 24, wherein said readily releasable mounting means comprises at least a pair of slots for receiving the retaining portion on the syringe.

27. Apparatus, for injecting liquid media, which comprises:

a front-loading syringe for holding the liquid media;

an injector housing having a front wall;

readily releasable mounting means for supporting said front-loading syringe on said housing front wall for an injection operation;

drive means movable through said housing front wall for controlling the movement of said Plunger in said syringe;

a tubular pressure jacket having a rearward end mounted on the front wall of said housing and having a forward open end;

said syringe being insertable through the forward open end of said tubular pressure jacket into said jacket for connection to said drive means;

said readily releasable mounting means including at least one syringe retaining portion on said pressure jacket adjacent the forward open end thereof, and at least one mating syringe retaining portion on said syringe adjacent a forward end thereof;

wherein said pressure jacket includes inner slot means for receiving said at least one mating retaining portion on said syringe therethrough, so that said retaining portions can be interengaged upon relative rotation of said syringe in said pressure jacket; and

wherein said syringe includes an elongated injection section which includes a screw-threaded cylindrical attachment portion surrounding an injection portion of a reduced diameter.