Automatic injector for emergency treatment

A device for initiating treatment of a coronary prone individual at a time during the early minutes or hours after the onset of heart attack symptoms, said device comprising

• automatic injector means comprising outer housing means, medicament cartridge assembly means mounted within said housing means in a storage position for movement out of said storage position, cartridge moving means mounted in said housing means for moving said medicament cartridge assembly means out of said storage position,
• said medicament cartridge assembly means including container means, hypodermic needle means, and medicament means disposed in a storage condition within said container means when said medicament cartridge assembly means is in said storage position operable when said medicament cartridge assembly means is moved out of said storage position to provide liquid medicament injectable through said hypodermic needle means,
• said moving means including stressed spring assembly means for moving said hypodermic needle means outwardly of said housing means into the muscle tissue of a patient and said liquid medicament outwardly through said hypodermic needle means into the muscle tissue of a patient,
• said liquid medicament including an agent for preventing platelet aggregation in the blood when absorbed therein from the muscle tissue.

Apparatus for treating a patient with a liquid medicament for purposes of establishing reperfusion under circumstances where intravenous injection is not practical but the fast response time of an intravenous injection is desirable comprising

• an automatic injector assembly including
• outer housing means,
• medicament cartridge means mounted within said outer housing means in a storage position, said medicament cartridge means including a hypodermic needle, a plurality of medicament ingredient containers, a powder medicament ingredient in one of said containers and a diluent ingredient in another of said containers,
• moving means within said outer housing means for effecting movement of said medicament cartridge means out of said storage position,
• mixing means within said outer housing means operable when said medicament cartridge means is moved out of said storage position for mixing the powder and diluent ingredients to form a liquid medicament,
• said moving means including stressed spring means releasable for effecting movement of said hypodermic needle outwardly of said outer housing means into the muscle tissue of the patient and said mixed liquid medicament outwardly through said needle into the muscle tissue of the patient,
• said mixed liquid medicament including a clot selective coronary thrombolytic agent.