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AssigneePhaeton Research Ltd.
InventorsPeter John Houzego, Peter Neil Morgan, Peter Hanson Hirst, Duncan James Westland, Ian Robert Wilding
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The field of the invention is site-specific drug delivery capsules (SSDC's). The disclosure relates to a closure member (14) for a substance reservoir (12) of an SSDC (10). The SSDC (10) includes a retainer that provides a non-linear force resisting opening of the closure member (14). The non-linear force ensures that the closure member (14) unseals the reservoir (12) only when an opening force exceeds a maximal value of the resisting force, thereby preventing premature or accidental emptying of the reservoir (12). The preferred means of providing the resistive force is a rolling, elastomeric o-ring (64) that additionally seals the closure member (14) into an aperture (13).
An ingestible device for delivering a substance to a chosen or identifiable location in the alimentary canal of a human or animal, comprising:
A device according to any preceding claim wherein the retainer member includes a resiliently deformable member interconnecting the closure member and a part of the device fixed relative to the exit aperture, whereby the said resistance acts directly or indirectly between the closure member and the exit aperture.
A device according to any preceding claim wherein the exit aperture is defined by a hollow, cylindrical portion of the reservoir and the closure member is a generally cylindrical bung that is moveably receivable in the exit aperture, the cylindrical outer side wall of the bung including a peripheral groove, the retainer member including a resiliently deformable o-ring seated in the said groove and sealingly interconnecting the peripheral groove and the hollow, cylindrical portion whereby on movement of the bung relative to the exit aperture the o-ring moves relative to at least one of the groove and the hollow, cylindrical portion.
A device according to any preceding claim including a transmitter operable to transmit a signal indicative of opening of the exit aperture for release of the substance from the reservoir.
A device according to any preceding claim wherein the reservoir includes a hollow, elongate cylinder and the actuator mechanism includes a piston moveable in the cylinder under power from the energy source to pressurize the reservoir thereby opening the closure member and expelling the substance from the reservoir.
A device according to any preceding claim wherein the reservoir contains a charge of a liquid, powdered or solid substance, or a suspension or a solution.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.