The present invention relates generally to a pen needle that facilitates manipulation by a user with reduced dexterity or a physical or visual impairment. More particularly, the present invention generally relates to a pen needle for a drug delivery device that facilitates medication injections for a user with reduced dexterity or a physical or visual impairment.
Insulin and other injectable medications are commonly given with drug delivery devices, such as a drug delivery pen, whereby a disposable pen needle is attached to facilitate drug container access and allow fluid egress from the container through the needle into the patient.
As technology and competition advance, driving the desire for shorter, thinner, less painful, and more efficacious injections, the design of the pen needle and parts thereof becomes more and more important. Designs need to proactively address ergonomically improving injection technique, injection depth control and accuracy, the ability to be safely used and transported to disposal, and protection against misuse while maintaining the ability to be economically manufactured on a mass production scale.
Drug delivery devices, such as the exemplary drug delivery pen 100 shown in
The medicament cartridge 12 is typically a glass tube sealed at one end with the septum 16 and sealed at the other end with the stopper 15. The septum 16 is pierceable by a septum penetrating cannula 18 in the hub 20, but does not move with respect to the medicament cartridge 12. The stopper 15 is axially displaceable within the medicament cartridge 12 while maintaining a fluid tight seal.
An exploded perspective view of a pen needle 2 of an exemplary drug delivery pen is shown in
To protect users from injury and the needle cannula 11 from being damaged, the inner shield 59 covers the exposed portion of the needle cannula 11. The open proximal end 210 of the inner shield 59 is placed over the exposed portion of the needle cannula 11. The open proximal end 110 of the cover 69 envelops the inner shield 59, needle cannula 11, and hub 20.
The distal end 105 of the cover 69 is closed to prevent contamination and damage to the inner components of the pen needle 2, and to prevent injury to anyone who may handle it prior to use. The proximal end 410 of the hub 20 is typically covered by a sanitary paper or foil cover or label (not shown) glued on an end 110 of the cover 69. The pen needle is then ready for shipment to a user. When the user is ready to use the pen needle, the sanitary cover (not shown) is removed from the cover 69, the hub 20 is screwed onto a lower housing 17 of a standard pen 100 (
Existing pen needles do not have provisions for users with visual or physical impairment or with limited dexterity. Pen needles are relatively small devices, and include a hub and needle rigidly fixed thereto, an inner shield, an outer cover and a sanitary cover or label, as described above. The largest part of the pen needle is the outer cover, which typically has an outer diameter of 0.6 inches and an overall length of 1.2 inches. The label is typically attached to the outer cover by heat sealing and considerable dexterity is required to remove the label. Thus, a need exists to provide a pen needle that facilitates manipulation by users with physical or visual impairment or with limited dexterity.
Existing drug delivery pens are disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2006/0229562 to Marsh et al., which was published on Oct. 12, 2006, and 2007/0149924 to R. Marsh, which was published on Jun. 28, 2007, the entire contents of both of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, an outer cover of a pen needle assembly has increased surface area for gripping by a user.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a label tab has increased surface area to facilitate removal thereof by a user.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a label tab has an opening therein to facilitate removal thereof by a user.
The foregoing objects are basically attained by providing a pen needle including a hub and a needle fixedly connected to the hub. An outer cover removably receives the hub and the needle. The outer cover has a first gripping member to facilitate removal of the outer cover from the hub. A sealing member is removably connected to the outer cover. The sealing member has a second gripping member to facilitate removal of the sealing member from the outer cover.
Objects, advantages, and salient features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses exemplary embodiments of the invention.
The above benefits and other advantages of the various embodiments of the present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the present invention and from the accompanying drawing figures, in which:
Throughout the drawings, like reference numbers will be understood to refer to like parts, components and structures.
The following description and details of exemplary embodiments of the present invention, while generally disclosed in a typical drug delivery pen, as shown in
In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention shown in
The cap 541 is preferably made of a plastic material. Wings 543 and 545 extend outwardly from the cap 541 to facilitate removal of the cap from the outer cover 511. Preferably, as shown in
A plurality of projections 515 are circumferentially disposed on an outer surface 517 of the outer cover 511 proximal the end 513 thereof. The projections 515 facilitate gripping the outer cover 511 during installation and removal of the pen needle assembly 501 (without the cap 541) from the drug delivery pen.
In another exemplary embodiment of the present invention shown in
The cap 641 is preferably made of a plastic material. A ring-like projection 643 extends outwardly from the cap 641 to facilitate removal of the cap from the outer cover 611. The ring-like projection 643 has an opening 645 therein to facilitate gripping the ring-like projection. Preferably, as shown in
Wings 615 and 617 extend outwardly from the narrow nose portion 618 of the outer cover 611 proximal a second end 614 thereof. The wings 615 and 617 facilitate gripping the outer cover 611 during installation and removal of the pen needle assembly 601 (without the cap 641) from the drug delivery pen, thereby reducing the force required to be exerted by the user. Preferably, as shown in
In another exemplary embodiment of the present invention shown in
The label 741 extends substantially perpendicular to an axis of the needle 721. An opening 743 in a tab 745 of the label 741 facilitates removal of the cap from the outer cover 711. The opening 743 in the tab 745 allows a user to firmly grip the tab 745, thereby facilitating removal of the label 741 by a user with limited dexterity.
Wings 715 and 717 extend outwardly from the wider body portion 718 of the outer cover 711 distal the first end 713 thereof. The wings 715 and 717 facilitate gripping the outer cover 711 during installation and removal of the pen needle 701 (without the label 741) from the drug delivery pen (
In another exemplary embodiment of the present invention shown in
The cap 841 is preferably made of a plastic material. A base 843 of the cap 841 extends outwardly from the outer cover 811 to facilitate removal of the cap from the outer cover 811 to facilitate gripping of the cap. Preferably, as shown in
A rubber overmold 851 is disposed on an outer surface 813 distal the first end 815 of the outer cover 811, as shown in
As shown in
The foregoing embodiments and advantages are merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. The description of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is intended to be illustrative, and not to limit the scope of the present invention. Various modifications, alternatives and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, and are intended to fall within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.
This application is the national stage under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No. PCT/US2010/000303, filed Feb. 4, 2010, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/150,678, filed Feb. 6, 2009, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
PCT/US2010/000303 | 2/4/2010 | WO | 00 | 10/12/2011 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2010/090733 | 8/12/2010 | WO | A |
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Number | Date | Country |
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2337557 | Sep 2001 | CA |
2337557 | Sep 2001 | CA |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20120022459 A1 | Jan 2012 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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61150678 | Feb 2009 | US |