Apparatus and method for delivery of small volumes of liquid

• US 5,997,518 A
• Filed: 01/14/1998
• Issued: 12/07/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Robert A. Laibovitz, Robert L. Rogers
• Original Assignee: Robert A. Laibovitz, Robert L. Rogers
• Inventors: Rogers, Robert L., Laibovitz, Robert A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Stright, Ronald
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cho, David J.
• Application Number:
  US09/006,720
• Time in Patent Office: 692 Days
• Field of Search: 604/289, 604/290, 604/294, 604/296, 604/298, 222/333, 222/340, 222/360, 222/390, 222/387, 222/494
• US Class Current: 604/296
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 9/0008 Introducing ophthalmic products into the ocular cavity or retaining products therein putting in contact lenses A61F9/0061; introducing or retaining media in cavities of the body in general A61M31/00

Abstract

Device and method for delivering small microliter volumes of liquid preparations to the eye or other body part utilizing a gas stream to induce a controlled, preselected volume of liquid into the gas stream and to deliver the liquid in the form of small droplets to the desired site.

Claims

1. An unitary apparatus for delivering a liquid as droplets which comprises:

a cylindrical housing having a closed top;

a compartment in an upper portion of the housing adapted to contain the liquid;

a piston and cylinder assembly positioned within the housing proximate the compartment;

a spring positioned within the housing;

a cocking device operable to hold the piston within the cylinder against the spring to a cocked position;

an eductor pump positioned proximate the housing and including an inlet and an outlet for the flow of gas through the pump and a port to enable said liquid to enter the pump from the compartment for mixing with the gas flow;

a passageway interconnecting the cylinder with said inlet connection to enable gas to flow from the cylinder to said inlet in response to movement of the piston from said cocked position;

a release mechanism operable to release the piston from said cocked position and thereby enable the piston to force a quantity of gas to flow through said passageway and said pump;

a feeder interconnecting the port of the pump with the liquid in said compartment to thereby educt a quantity of said liquid in response to the flow of said gas through the pump;

the piston displacement and the sizes of the pump and the feeder being interrelated such that said quantity of gas educts and delivers a predetermined volume of said liquid to as droplets through said outlet.

2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the pump comprises a jet pump.

3. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the pump comprises a venturi.

4. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the pump comprises a paddle wheel.

5. An apparatus for instilling a liquid in the eye or other body part which comprises:

a cylindrical housing having a closed top;

a compartment in an upper portion of the housing adapted to contain multiple doses of the liquid;

a piston positioned within the housing below the compartment and movable along the housing in a piston and cylinder relation;

a spring positioned within the housing between the piston and the bottom of the housing;

a cocking device operable to force the piston downward within the cylinder and against the spring to a cocked position;

an eductor pump positioned proximate the top of the housing and including inlet and outlet connections for the flow of gas through the pump and a port to enable said liquid to enter the pump for mixing with the gas flow;

a passageway interconnecting the cylindrical housing above the piston with said inlet connection to enable gas to flow from the housing to said inlet in response to upward movement of the piston from its cocked position;

a release mechanism operable to release the piston from its cocked position and thereby enable the piston to force a quantity of gas to flow through the passageway and the eductor pump;

a feeder conduit interconnecting the port of the eductor pump with the liquid in said compartment to thereby educt a quantity of said liquid in response to the flow of said gas through said eductor pump;

the piston displacement and the sizes of the eductor pump and the feeder conduit being interrelated such that said quantity of gas educts and delivers a single dose less than 30 ml of said liquid to the eye as droplets.

6. An apparatus for instilling a liquid in the eye which comprises:

a cylindrical housing having a closed top;

a compartment in an upper portion of the housing adapted to contain multiple doses of the liquid;

a piston positioned within the housing below the compartment and movable along the housing;

a spring positioned within the housing between the piston and the bottom of the housing;

a cocking device operable to force the piston downward within the cylinder and against the spring to a cocked position;

a jet pump positioned proximate the top of the housing and including inlet and outlet connections for the flow of gas through the pump and a port to enable liquid to enter the pump for mixing with the gas flow;

a passageway interconnecting the cylindrical housing above the piston with said inlet connection to enable gas to flow from the housing to said inlet in response to upward movement of the piston from its cocked position;

a trigger operable to release the piston from its cocked position and thereby enable the piston to force a quantity of gas to flow through the passageway and the jet pump;

a feeder conduit interconnecting the port of the jet pump with the liquid in said compartment to thereby educt a quantity of said liquid in response to the flow of said gas through the jet pump;

the piston displacement and the sizes of the jet pump and the feeder conduit being interrelated such that said quantity of gas educts and delivers a single dose of said liquid to the eye as droplets with an aggregate volume less than the capacity of the eye to hold.

7. A unitary device as defined in claim 6, wherein the dose of said liquid is between about 1 ml and about 15 ml.

8. A method as defined in claim 6 wherein the dose of said liquid is between about 1 ml and about 25 ml.

9. A method for delivering a unit dose of a liquid as droplets to the eye or other body part which comprises:

(a) providing having a driving inlet, a suction inlet, and an outlet, and being capable of educting and ejecting a preselected unit dose of a liquid from a reservoir of the liquid upon the flow of a preselected volume of a particular gas at a particular pressure through the pump;

(b) delivering said preselected volume of said particular gas at said particular pressure to the driving inlet of the pump to thereby educt a unit dose of the liquid from the reservoir into the gas flowing through the pump and form a mixture of the gas and droplets of the liquid dose; and

(c) ejecting the mixture of gas and liquid dose droplets toward the eye or other body part.

10. A device for delivering a liquid aqueous ophthalmic preparation to an eye, comprising a unitary structure including:

a housing having a closed top;

a compartment in the housing adapted to contain the preparation;

a pump within the housing including inlet and outlet connections for the flow of air through the pump and a port to enable liquid to be drawn into the pump for mixing with the air flow;

a spring loadable piston having a one-way valve positioned within the housing and moveable within the housing;

a cocking device manually operable to force the piston within the housing to a cocked spring loaded position;

a passageway interconnecting the housing with said inlet connection to enable air to flow from the housing to said inlet in response to movement of the piston from its cocked position;

a mechanism operable to release the piston from its cocked position and thereby enable the piston to force a volume of air to flow through the passageway and the pump; and

a feeder conduit interconnecting the port of the pump with the aqueous preparation in said compartment to thereby educt a quantity of said preparation in response to the flow of said air through said pump;

the piston displacement and the sizes of the pump and feeder conduit being interrelated such that said volume of air educts and delivers a predetermined volume less than 30 μ

l of said liquid as droplets.