The invention relates to vacuum stoppering of fluid containers. Specifically the invention relates to methods, assemblies and systems for precisely positioning a resilient stopper in a container having a fluid medicament therein.
Preloaded vials and syringes filled with various fluid medicines (herein after “medicaments”) have become part of the ordinary procedure for treatment of various maladies and illnesses in the developed world. Whereas in previous generations, medical personnel introduced intramuscular or intravenous medications by filling a graduated syringe through a needle from a fluid medicament bottle by displacing a piston plunger manually to a desired volume. Any air gap between the plunger and the fluid medication was carefully expelled and the injection delivered to the patient. In the modern world, these methods have now been occasionally replaced largely with automated equipment including infusion apparatus which accepts preloaded cartridges or syringes having the fluid medicaments hermetically sealed therein. The prior use of manual syringes and a trained individual to inject a patient allowed the medical specialist to expel from the syringe any air or gaseous bubbles possibly present in the syringe. It is well known that intravenous introduction of any such gas or bubbles may cause an embolism which is typically deleterious to the patient. Automated systems now produce a medicinal cartridge having a resilient stopper therein which preferably does not have any gaseous component between the stopper and the fluid medicament. Such gaseous material and the gap defined by thereby is known in the art as “headspace.” In addition to the possibility of embolism, such gas may not be inert, such as conventional atmospheric gas which may include contaminants including microorganism possibly causing deleterious positive bacterial growth within the medicament. Such headspace may also cause dosing errors in customized infusion equipment. Efforts to automate the process of filling such fluid cartridges and vials and stoppering the same have made significant progess. The most successful such processes is the so called vacuum stoppering of syringes. As used herein, the terms “fluid container,” “fluid cartridge,” fluid syringe,” “syringe vial,” and the like are interchangeable. Furthermore, the terms “stopper”, “piston” and “plunger” may be used interchangeably as is the custom in the industry. Under this method, a syringe filled with a medicament or plurality thereof are placed into a multi-cartridge vacuum chamber and a resilient, deformable stopper is placed onto an open upper end of the vial under a partial vacuum. Once the stoppers are appropriately positioned at least partially in engagement with an open throat of the syringes/cartridges the partial vacuum is released and the chamber in which the cartridges reside is vented to atmospheric pressure. Thereupon the stoppers are urged by the differential pressure thereon to enter fully into the cartridges, sealing the same. U.S. Pat. No. 7,328,549 Kinney et al. discloses a process for septic vacuum tilling and stoppering of low viscosity liquids in syringes applying such a vacuum method. Kinney et al. go to great lengths to prevent transition of the liquid medicament to the gaseous phase by suppressing the vapor pressure of the liquid by significantly lowering the temperature thereof during the vacuum stoppering process. Kinney et al. show that doing so substantially reduces the headspace between the medicament and the resilient stopper. Nevertheless, the inventors herein have discovered that the process disclosed by Kinney et al. and others does not position the stopper with sufficient axial accuracy to prevent a gap being formed between the fluid medicament and the stopper. As a result, the fluid medicament can overtime enter the vapor phase creating the undesirable so called headspace.
Other prior art processes for inserting a resilient stopper into medicament cartridges rely on mechanic insertion of the stopper into the cartridge resulting in permanent deformation of the outer side walls of the stopper such as to compromise the desired hermetic seal between the stopper and the cartridge container. The cartridges themselves are typically manufactured from a type of plastic such as polyolefin polymer while the stoppers are typically manufactured from a medical grade silicon coated with a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) low friction coating. In one mechanical prior art technique the cartridges are arranged in an array in a tray inside a vacuum chamber. Individual tubes having an outer diameter smaller than the inner diameter throats on the cartridges are positioned above the open cartridge throats and the tubes are preloaded with the silicon stoppers. The outer diameter of the stopper is significantly radially smaller than the inner diameter of the tubes thus the stoppers are substantially radially deformed while in the tubes. While the chamber is partially evacuated, pistons depress the stopper into the tube which has previously been lowered into position within the cartridges. The stopper emerges from the free end of the tube inside the cartridge where upon the deforming force of the tube has been released and the stopper radially expands to fill the throat of the cartridge. Thus, the stopper has been disadvantageously deformed as specifically the PTFE coating has been deformed beyond its elastic threshold such that upon re-expansion inside the cartridge, the stopper typically wrinkles or other permanent deformities remain. These deformities compromise the hermetic seal, and through capillary action can draw the fluid medicament back out of the cartridge beyond the stopper over time. As a result, the fluid dosage of the cartridge is no longer correct, or the Inverse occurs and ambient atmosphere is drawn into the cartridge.
Thus, a need exists for a method and apparatus which can accurately position elastomeric stoppers into fluid cartridges repeatedly and precisely to a final selected depth. A further need exists to prevent radial deformation of the stopper beyond an elastic deformation limit of a coating on the stopper such that the hermetic seal of the stopper with respect to the container or cartridge is not compromised.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a method, apparatus, and system for accurately and repeatibly positioning and elastomeric stopper and a fluid medicament containing cartridge to a final selected depth.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a system, method, apparatus which achieves the above object and which also does not radially deform the stopper beyond an elastomeric stopper deformation limit which would adversely affect a hermetic seal achieved between the stopper and the cartridge.
The invention achieves the above objects and other objects and advantages which will be apparent from the description which follows by providing a method for vacuum stoppering of medicinal cartridges of the type having a substantially cylindrical throat defining an open top end. In the inventive method, a radially deformable cylindrical stopper is provided for stoppering the throat of a cartridge having a fluid medicament therein. The stopper is grasped with a grasping tool by first applying vacuum to an upper surface of the stopper through the grasping tool. The stopper is advantageously grasped on an end having the stopper threads thus leaving the sidewall and product contacting end undisturbed. The stopper and the grasping tool are positioned in a single unit vacuum chamber placed in contact with an open top end of the cartridge. The chamber is evacuated to a second vacuum pressure and the stopper is inserted into the throat of the cartridge with the grasping tool to a first selected depth without excessively deforming the stopper beyond a critical radial deformation value. Simultaneously, the vacuum in the chamber is reduced and the stopper is advanced with the grasping tool to a final selected depth whereby the stopper is accurately urged into the cartridge throat to the final selected depth both by the reduced vacuum in the chamber and the mechanical force applied by the grasping tool to the stopper. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the magnitude of the second vacuum pressure in the vacuum chamber is less than the magnitude of the first vacuum pressure applied by the grasping tool applied to the stopper. Preferably, the vacuum in the chamber is reduced to the ambient pressure when the stopper is advanced to the final selected depth. In many cases for stoppers having large diameters, the vacuum pressure alone is insufficient to move the stopper to the desired final depth into the container.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the stopper is provided with axially spaced apart circumferential sealing and stabilizing rings such that an annular gap can he defined by the rings, the stopper, and an inner side wall of the cartridge throat when the stopper is advanced to the final selected depth. Preferably, during the stopper inserting step the stopper is advanced to the first step where only the sealing ring is fully engaged with the side wall of the cartridge's throat. A stabilizing gas, such as nitrogen, is introduced into the vacuum chamber at or less than atmospheric pressure while the stopper is in the described position. Then, any remaining vacuum in the chamber is reduced and the grasping tool is advanced to the final selected depth before the chamber is fully reduced to the ambient pressure so that the stabilizing gas is trapped between the sealing and stabilized rings to prevent ingress of ambient air into the fluid medicaments in the cartridge. The cartridge is preferably weighed before and after the medicament is placed in the cartridge so that the precise volume of the fluid in the cartridge can be determined by weight. Alternatively, before the stopper is inserted to the first selected depth inert sterile air gas can be introduced into the single unit vacuum chamber to provide a known headspace for the fluid with the sterilized inert gas. The stopper is preferably provided with a circumferential coating with a low coefficient of friction.
The invention also preferably includes a vacuum head assembly for use in the non deforming method for vacuum stoppering of the fluid cartridge described above. The assembly preferably includes the main body having a plurality of fluid communication points. The main body also defines a cylindrical open ended chamber for receipt of an elongated annular bell housing. The assembly includes an elongated stopper grasping tool having an internal bore defining an interior vacuum path for grasping the stopper. The stopper grasping tool also defines an exterior vacuum path for a evacuating the cartridge prior to insertion of the stopper therein. The bell housing has a first end adapted to sealingly engage an open throat of a medicament containing cartridge and a distal end having an outer surface adapted for reciprocal axial motion with respect to the main housing, and an interior portion adapted for sealingly reciprocal motion with respect to the grasping tool. The bell housing is preferably biased with respect to the main body by a biasing member, such as a spring to urge the bell housing to an extended position for sealing engagement with the cartridge open end.
The method and vacuum head assembly are preferably part of a system for non deforming vacuum stoppering of fluid cartridges. The system includes the vacuum head assembly described above connected to a motivating device, such as a six axis of freedom robotic arm for positioning the assembly with respect to one or more of a plurality of medicament filled cartridges. This system includes a cartridge processing station adapted to receive a plurality of the cartridges such as in a nest or tray. This system has a stopper loading station fur segregating and isolating an individual stopper such that the stopper can be grasped by the grasping tool. This system preferably has a tare weighing system for weighing the cartridges prior to being filled with fluid and a fill weighing station for weighing the cartridges after they have been filled with fluid. The robotic arm is preferably provided with a mechanism for loading the cartridges with the fluid medicament. In a preferred embodiment of the invention this system includes a tray processing station for providing unprocessed trays of medicament containers to the robotic arm and for removing processed trays from the robotic arm. The tray processing station preferably includes a linear tray motivating device and a tray translating device for positioning unprocessed trays in the cartridge processing station and for removing processed trays onward. A vacuum source is provided for fluid communication with ports on the vacuum head assembly to operate the stopper grasping tool and for evacuating the medicament cartridge prior to stoppering. Associated pneumatic control valves and logic control systems are provided to operate the system in cooperation with a conventional digital computer.
A non deforming vacuum stoppering system in according with the principles of the invention is generally indicated at reference numeral 10 in
As described in further detail below, the stopper 22 is typically manufactured from a resilient polymer such as medical grade silicone and coated with a low friction non reactive coating such as Teflon® or Flurotec®. While the stopper its self is capable of substantial elastic deformation without permanent deformation, the coating is not. Thus is desirable to limit the radial compression of the stopper during the stoppering process to less than a preselected radial deformation limit. Such limits are established by the manufacture but for purposed for this disclosure a limit of 1 mm is acceptable.
Referring into
With reference to
As shown in
Operation of this system 10 will now be described. First, empty cartridges 14 are loaded into the processing tray 44 on the linear tray motivator 46. The motivator 46 is operated under control of a conventional digital computer, PLC or robot controller 62 and advances the tray to the actuator arm 48. The actuator arm removes the tray 44 from the motivator 46 and positions the tray 44 in the cartridge processing station 50. The tare weighing station 52 is advanced underneath each individual cartridge 14 prior to filing the same with the medicament and weighs the cartridge of interest. The pipette 40 is then positioned by the robotic arm 36 appropriately with respect to the cartridge of interest and fills the cartridge 14 with a desired volume of medicament 16. Prior to filing, the fill weighing station 54 is positioned under the cartridge of interest and weighs the cartridge either while it is being filled or after filling to determine if additional filing is necessary. Once the desired fill weight has been achieved, the robotic arm 36 motivates the vacuum head assembly 12 and positions the same over the cartridge of interest as shown
The stopper loading station 56 also under control of the computer 62 has been continuously feeding and positioning stoppers onto the ramp 60 in preparation for receipt by the stopper grasping tool 76 of the vacuum head assembly 12. The robotic arm 36 positions the assembly at the end location 90 wherein the properly positioned stoppers are known to come to final and singular rest. The arm 36 positions the grasping tool 76 precisely in contact with a flat upper surface of the stopper and initiates a vacuum under computer control though the grasping tool vacuum port 92 at a first partial vacuum pressure such that the stopper adheres to the grasping tool. The robotic arm (under control of the computer system 62) then positions a free end 90 of the vacuum head assembly 12 in sealing contact with the throat 20 of the cartridge 14.
Once the bell housing 72 is in sealing contact with the cartridge 14 a second partial vacuum pressure is applied to the cartridge vacuum port 68 so as to evacuate atmospheric gasses through the exterior vacuum path 86 to the desired partial pressure. The robotic arm 36 then axially advances the bracket 38 and thus the main body 64, stopper grasping tool 76 and thus the stopper 22 downwardly until the sealing ring 24 on the stopper is in contact with the inner sidewall 28 of the throat 20 of the cartridge 14. At this time, an inert gas can be introduced into the exterior vacuum path 86 through the cartridge vacuum port 68 such that when the main body 64 and stopper grasping tool 76 are advanced to the final selected depth as shown in
As is apparent from the above, the precise weight of the medicament in each cartridge 14 is known, and thus the precise volume is known as well. The dimensions of the cartridge also being known, is possible for the computer 62 to direct the robotic arm 36 to precisely axially position stopper 22 to the desired final depth so that there is either no headspace between the fluid 16 and the cartridge and the stopper, or that a known headspace is provided but is filled with an inert gas that will inhibit growth of undesirable biological materials in the cartridge or reduce oxidation of the medicament. In addition, it is possible to provide the annular cavity between the sealing and stabilizing rings on the stopper with an inert gas to prevent ingress of an ambient atmosphere into the now hermetically sealed cartridge.
In order to prevent boil off of the medicament itself during the stoppering process without the necessity of using low temperatures to manipulate the vapor pressure of the fluid, the stoppering process is accomplished relatively quickly. This is possible because the position of the vacuum head assembly is under computer control and is highly accurate such that the vacuum is only applied to the medicament for a short period. In order to carry out this timing sequence, the system 10 is provided with a pneumatic logic system generally indicated in
The computer 62, pneumatic control system 100, vacuum assembly 12 and robotic arm 36 cooperate so as to execute the timing shown in
The middle graph represents the absolute pressure in millibars applied to the grasping tool vacuum port 92 and thus the grasping tool 76 and the cartridge vacuum port 86 and thus the cartridge 14. The upper graph shows the positions (open=1, closed=0) of the various valves shown in
As shown in the lower graph, the stopper grasping tool 76 is at a rest position (equals zero depth) until a first position 128 is reached at which time the pressure in the bell housing 94 is still at atmospheric pressure of 1013 millibars while the upper grasping tool maintains a pressure of 90 millibars vacuum to hold onto the stopper 22. At the first position, the robot arm 36 axially advances the vacuum head assembly 49 millimeters towards the throat 20 of the cartridge 14 and a free end 130 of the bell housing comes into contact with the cartridge. At that point, a second pressure is applied to the cartridge vacuum poi t 68 reducing the absolute pressure in the exterior vacuum path 86 to approximately 100 millibars at a second point 132. A time period (t1) of approximately 30 milliseconds the second vacuum pressure is applied to the cartridge 14 thereby limiting the opportunity for the fluid therein to enter the gaseous state(i.e. boil) and allowed to stabilize. An additional time period defined by a third point 134 to a fourth point 136 assures the full atmospheric gasses have been removed from the cartridge. Between the forth point 136 and a fifth point 138 the cartridge grasping tool 76 is advanced to a position in which the first sealing ring 24 is in contact with the inner side walls 28 of the cartridge 14. At this point an inert gas may be introduced into the exterior vacuum path 86 such that at a sixth point 140 in the cycle time, the grasping tool is advanced to 65.5 mm and the stabilizing ring 26 is fully engaged with the inner sidewall of the cartridge 28 as shown in
Those of ordinary skill in the art will conceive of other alternate embodiments of the invention upon reviewing this disclosure. Thus, the invention is not to be limited to the above description, but is to be determined in scope by the claims which follow.
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