Needle for subcutaneous delivery of fluids
First Claim
1. A needle for the delivery of a liquid to a subject, said needle comprising a shaft having a central longitudinal axis, a tubular sidewall, a first end and a second end, and an internal bore extending along said central longitudinal axis between said first end of said shaft and said second end of said shaft, said internal bore having an internal surface and being open at said first end of said shaft to receive a liquid supply and being open at said second end of said shaft, said second end of said shaft being sharpened for penetration of the skin of the subject, said shaft having at least one aperture therein, said at least one aperture being in the form of a linear cut in said tubular sidewall of said shaft extending transversely to said longitudinal central axis, said linear cut being in communication with said external surface of said sidewall of said shaft to form an external opening of said at least one aperture at said external surface, said linear cut also being in communication with said internal surface of said internal bore to form an internal opening of said at least one aperture at said internal surface, said at least one aperture including an aperture wall between said internal opening and said external opening, at least one portion of said aperture wall being oriented at an angle non-parallel to the radius of said internal bore, said external opening having an area that is substantially greater than the area of said internal opening of said at least one aperture.
9 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A needle (10) for the delivery of a liquid to a subject comprises a shaft (11) having an internal surface defining a longitudinally extending internal bore open at one end (15) to receive a liquid supply, the other end (16) being sharpened for penetration of the skin of the subject. A plurality of apertures (18) are provided, each in the form of a cut extending across the external surface of the side of the shaft (11) at a sufficient depth to establish communication with the bore. The external aperture area is approximately three times greater than the internal aperture area, thereby ensuring that the liquid is delivered to a large surface area of tissue to improve absorption and eliminate fluctuations in the delivery rate. The needle (10) can be mass-produced by aligning a batch of shafts alongside one another and running a grinder across the surfaces of the shafts to create the apertures (18) in the entire batch of needles simultaneously.
259 Citations
21 Claims
- 1. A needle for the delivery of a liquid to a subject, said needle comprising a shaft having a central longitudinal axis, a tubular sidewall, a first end and a second end, and an internal bore extending along said central longitudinal axis between said first end of said shaft and said second end of said shaft, said internal bore having an internal surface and being open at said first end of said shaft to receive a liquid supply and being open at said second end of said shaft, said second end of said shaft being sharpened for penetration of the skin of the subject, said shaft having at least one aperture therein, said at least one aperture being in the form of a linear cut in said tubular sidewall of said shaft extending transversely to said longitudinal central axis, said linear cut being in communication with said external surface of said sidewall of said shaft to form an external opening of said at least one aperture at said external surface, said linear cut also being in communication with said internal surface of said internal bore to form an internal opening of said at least one aperture at said internal surface, said at least one aperture including an aperture wall between said internal opening and said external opening, at least one portion of said aperture wall being oriented at an angle non-parallel to the radius of said internal bore, said external opening having an area that is substantially greater than the area of said internal opening of said at least one aperture.
Specification