Hand-held injection devices and methods of use

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10463791-B2
Application number	US-201414189139-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 25, 2014
Priority date	Sep 5, 2011
Publication date	Nov 5, 2019
Grant date	Nov 5, 2019

Abstract

At least one hand-held injection device for the metered injection of a liquid drug into a person's tissue is disclosed. The exemplary injection device comprises an elongated drug reservoir having a longitudinal reservoir axis (A), an elongated dosing unit having a dosing unit inlet, a dosing unit outlet, and a metering cavity, the dosing unit having a longitudinal dosing unit axis (A′), the elongated drug reservoir being fluidically coupled to the dosing unit inlet. The dosing unit and the drug reservoir are arranged such that the longitudinal dosing unit axis (A′) is in parallel alignment with the reservoir axis (A). The dosing unit structured to allow the flow of the liquid drug from the drug reservoir into the metering cavity via the dosing unit inlet, thus charging the metering cavity, and to subsequently discharge the metering cavity by dosing drug out of the metering cavity into the dosing unit outlet.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A hand-held injection device for the metered injection of a liquid drug into a person's tissue, the injection device comprising:
a housing, the housing being sized and shaped to be grasped by a user with a single hand for carrying out an injection;
an elongated drug reservoir having a longitudinal reservoir axis (A);
an elongated dosing unit having a dosing unit inlet, a dosing unit outlet, and a metering cavity, the dosing unit having a longitudinal dosing unit axis (A′), the drug reservoir being fluidically coupled to the dosing unit inlet;
wherein the dosing unit and the drug reservoir are arranged such that the longitudinal dosing unit axis (A′) is in parallel alignment with the reservoir axis (A);
wherein the dosing unit is structured to allow the flow of the liquid drug from the drug reservoir into the metering cavity via the dosing unit inlet, thus charging the metering cavity, and to subsequently discharge the metering cavity by dosing drug out of the metering cavity into the dosing unit outlet;
wherein the dosing unit includes a drive coupler for coupling the dosing unit for an application time of the dosing unit to an actuator, such that operation of the actuator results in the metering cavity being charged or discharged, respectively; and
wherein the dosing unit includes a valve arrangement, and wherein the valve arrangement is configured to be switchable between an inlet state and an outlet state, such that in the inlet state, the dosing unit inlet is fluidically coupled to the metering cavity and the dosing unit outlet is fluidically separated from the metering cavity, and such that in the outlet state, the metering cavity is fluidically coupled with the dosing unit outlet and the dosing unit inlet is fluidically separated from the metering cavity, wherein there is no state of the valve arrangement where both the dosing unit inlet and the dosing unit outlet are fluidically coupled with the metering cavity.

2. The hand-held injection device of claim 1 , wherein the hand-held injection device is structured, subsequent to charging the metering cavity, to stepwise discharge the metering cavity in a number of separate injections.

3. The hand-held injection device of claim 1 , further comprising a user-operated dose setting control, the user-operated dose setting control being coupled to the dosing unit for setting an individual dose volume for each injection.

4. The hand-held injection device of claim 1 , wherein the elongated dosing unit includes a stationary member and a movable member, the movable member includes a dosing cavity, wherein the movable member and the stationary member, in combination, form the valve arrangement such that a relative motion of the movable member with respect to the stationary member switches the valve arrangement between the inlet state and the outlet state.

5. The hand-held injection device of claim 1 , wherein the dosing unit includes a piston pump, the piston pump including a piston, the piston being linearly displaceable in the metering cavity between a proximal end position and a distal end position for charging and discharging the metering cavity.

6. The hand-held injection device of claim 5 , wherein the piston includes an encoder scale.

7. The hand-held injection device of claim 1 , wherein the drive coupler is structured to couple to a single actuator for switching the valve arrangement between the inlet state and the outlet state and alternatively charging and discharging the metering cavity.

8. The hand-held injection device of claim 7 , wherein the dosing unit includes a piston pump, the piston pump including a piston, the piston being linearly displaceable in the metering cavity between a proximal end position and a distal end position for charging and discharging the metering cavity, wherein the dosing unit is designed to couple the piston for an application time of the dosing unit, continuously to the actuator and to selectively frictionally couple a movable member to the actuator for switching the valve arrangement between the inlet state and the outlet state.

9. The hand-held injection device of claim 8 , wherein the selective frictional coupling of the movable member to the actuator is independent from the coupling of the piston to the actuator.

10. The hand-held injection device of claim 1 , further comprising a drive unit, the drive unit including a single actuator.

11. The hand-held injection device of claim 10 , wherein the single actuator is an electric motor and the hand-held injection device further includes control circuitry, the control circuitry being operatively coupled to the electric motor.

12. The hand-held injection device of claim 10 , wherein the drive unit has a longitudinal drive unit axis, the longitudinal drive unit axis being in-line with or parallel to the longitudinal dosing unit axis (A′).

13. The hand-held injection device of claim 1 , further including a biasing device, the biasing device pressurizing the drug inside the drug reservoir.

14. The hand-held injection device of claim 1 , further comprising a cannula coupler or a port coupler, releasably mechanically coupling the hand-held injection device to an injection cannula or a subcutaneous port and structured to releasably fluidically couple the dosing unit outlet with the injection cannula or the subcutaneous port.

15. The hand-held injection device of claim 14 , wherein the cannula coupler or the port coupler is arranged to couple the hand-held injection device and the injection cannula or the subcutaneous port such that the longitudinal reservoir axis (A) is perpendicular to longitudinal cannula axis or port axis.

16. The hand-held injection device of claim 1 , further comprising a user-operable reservoir coupler.

17. The hand-held injection device of claim 1 , further including a measurement device, the measurement device operable to determine a presence and/or a concentration of an analyte within a human's blood.

18. The hand-held injection device of claim 1 , further comprising a disposable module, the disposable module including the dosing unit, the hand-held injection device further including a reusable module, the reusable module including circuitry, wherein the disposable module and the reusable module are designed to releasably couple such that the disposable module is disposable by a device user with the reusable module being maintained for subsequently coupling with a further disposable module.

19. An injection device kit, the injection device kit comprising:
a disposable module comprising the hand-held injection device of claim 1 ; and
a reusable module comprising circuitry and a drive unit;
wherein the reusable module and the disposable module are structured to be coupled together by a user.

Assignees

• Roche Diagnostics Operations Inc

Inventors

• Shergold Oliver
• Scheurer Simon

Classifications

• A61M2005/1587

  suitable for being connected to an infusion line after insertion into a patient · CPC title

• A61M5/204

  connected to external reservoirs for multiple refilling · CPC title

• A61M2005/14268

  with a reusable and a disposable component · CPC title

• A61M5/1723

  using feedback of body parameters, e.g. blood-sugar, pressure (measurement of body parameters A61B5/00) · CPC title

• A61B5/150358

  Strips for collecting blood, e.g. absorbent · CPC title