Needle-Free Transdermal Injection Device
AssigneePortal Instruments, Inc.
InventorsAndrew Coats, Robert J. Dyer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus for use in injectate delivery includes an actuator including a linkage, a force generating mechanism mechanically coupled to the linkage, and a controller coupled to the force generating mechanism. The force generating mechanism includes a passive force generator and an active force generator. In operation and on the basis of a control signal, the controller is configured to control the force generating mechanism to provide an input force to the linkage that is a combination of the first force provided by the passive force generator and a second force provided by the active force generator.
Claims18
An apparatus for use in injectate delivery, the apparatus comprising:
- an actuator including a linkage, a force generating mechanism mechanically coupled to the linkage, and a controller coupled to the force generating mechanism;
- wherein the force generating mechanism includes a passive force generator and an actively controlled force generating device, the passive force generator comprising a spring storing mechanical energy and configured to release the mechanical energy upon actuation as a first force on the linkage, and the actively controlled force generating device comprising at least one electromagnetic motor configured to apply a second force to the linkage in response to a control signal from the controller, wherein the first force released by the passive force generator supplements the second force from the actively controlled force generating device, resulting in a net force on the linkage that is a sum of the first force and the second force when driving the linkage during injectate delivery according to a target velocity profile;
- and
- wherein the controller is configured, in a reset mode, to control the at least one electromagnetic motor to apply a resetting force to the linkage to compress the spring such that mechanical energy is stored in the spring, and in an injection mode, to control the at least one electromagnetic motor, upon actuation, to maintain a net force upon the linkage by varying the second force from the at least one electromagnetic motor during application of the first force by the spring such that the net force drives a velocity of the linkage toward a target velocity in the target velocity profile.
An apparatus for delivering a fluid held within a chamber to a patient, said apparatus comprising:
- an actuator for exerting a force on the fluid in the chamber during operation;
- an electromagnetic motor for driving the actuator, said motor during operation causing the actuator to apply a first force component on the fluid in the chamber during a fluid transfer cycle;
- an energy storage element storing mechanical energy, said energy storage element for causing the actuator to apply a second force component on the fluid in the chamber during the fluid transfer cycle, wherein the total force applied by the actuator on the fluid in the chamber during the fluid transfer cycle is the sum of the first and second force components;
- and
- a controller for controlling the electromagnetic motor to dynamically vary the first force component throughout the fluid transfer cycle to drive the actuator toward a velocity in a target velocity profile.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.