The present invention relates to an improved apparatus for use with animal medication, particularly for higher-viscosity medication.
Animals need medication for various purposes, including illness treatment and illness prevention.
The present invention is directed to an improved apparatus for use with animal medication. In one aspect, a syringe adapter for withdrawing fluid medication from a container comprises a sidewall extending between a proximal end and a distal end, the sidewall having an interior surface defining a chamber, the proximal end configured to be connected to a syringe while withdrawing at least a portion of the fluid medication from the container through the chamber and into a barrel of the syringe and the distal end configured for inserting into the container for the withdrawal, wherein an opening at the distal end is relatively large in diameter to facilitate withdrawing fluid medication having a relatively high viscosity and the syringe adapter is configured to be removed from the syringe and replaced with a needle prior to subsequently injecting, into an animal, the fluid medication withdrawn into the barrel. The relatively large opening is directed toward improved syringeability of the fluid medication. The viscosity of the fluid medication is preferably greater than or equal to 50 centipoise units when a temperature of the fluid medication is at least 5 degrees Celsius.
The syringe is preferably configured as a pistol-grip syringe or a tab-handled syringe, and therefore is directed toward improving leverage for the subsequent injection. Preferably, the diameter of the opening at the distal end is approximately 0.10 inches, and the sidewall is approximately 0.05 inches in thickness at the distal end. Optionally, the syringe adapter further comprises a flanged area that extends perpendicularly from the proximal end. The syringe adapter may further comprise a radial extension member that extends perpendicularly and radially outward from an exterior surface of the syringe adapter Preferably, an outer shape of the syringe adapter is generally conical in a first portion and generally cylindrical in a second portion. Preferably, an inner shape of the syringe adapter, for at least a portion of the proximal end, is generally conical. The inner shape of the syringe adapter may taper from the proximal end toward the distal end, for at least a portion of the proximal end, at approximately 6 percent. The syringe adapter preferably connects to the syringe using a Luer-type connection, the Luer-type connection selected from the group comprising a Luer-type lock and a Luer-type slip.
In another aspect, a method of administering fluid medication to an animal comprises: affixing a syringe adapter to a syringe, the syringe adapter comprising a sidewall extending between a proximal end and a distal end, the sidewall having an interior surface defining a chamber, the proximal end configured to be connected to a distal end of the syringe; inserting the distal end of the syringe adapter into a container of fluid medication having a relatively high viscosity; withdrawing, from the container, at least a portion of the fluid medication through the chamber and into a barrel of the syringe, wherein an opening at the distal end is relatively large in diameter to facilitate withdrawing the relatively-high-viscosity medication; removing the syringe adapter from the syringe subsequent to the withdrawing; affixing a needle to the distal end of the syringe, subsequent to the removing; and injecting, into an animal, the fluid medication withdrawn into the barrel.
Various embodiments of these and other aspects of the present invention may be provided in view of the present disclosure. It should be noted that the foregoing is a summary and thus contains, by necessity, simplifications, generalizations, and omissions of detail; consequently, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. Other aspects, inventive features, and advantages of the present invention, as defined by the appended claims, will become apparent in the non-limiting detailed description set forth below.
The present invention will be described with reference to the following drawings, in which like reference numbers denote the same element throughout.
As noted earlier, animals need medication for various purposes, including illness treatment and illness prevention. Treatment of animals using medication may be desired whether the animal is a family pet, part of a livestock operation, is the subject of research, and so forth. Examples of medicating animals for illness treatment will be obvious, and may span a wide variety of illnesses. One example of medicating an animal for illness prevention is a proactive vaccination; another example is to proactively administer an antibiotic. In a commercial livestock operation, animals may be proactively medicated before they are introduced into another group of livestock, for example to guard against introducing an illness that they may carry or simply to ensure that all animals in the group have received an identical medication regimen. Medication might also be administered in anticipation of, or in response to, a change in weather conditions or a change in geographical location for an animal (such as moving from one climate to another). Hereinafter, animal medications are discussed without differentiation of the purpose for such medication.
Animal medication may be found in various forms, including solid and fluid. Solid substances may be ingestible, for example, while fluids may be injectable or may be administered orally or nasally. Embodiments of the present invention are directed toward improved apparatus for use with animal medication in fluid form.
Medications provided in fluid form may vary widely in their viscosity, depending upon their chemical formulation. Viscosity is sometimes defined as the resistance of a substance to flow. The viscosity of water is relatively low, for example, while the viscosity of honey is relatively high. The viscosity of some substances can be changed by applying heat; for example, melting butter increases its ability to flow. Some fluid medications may have a viscosity that is relatively low and is similar to that of water, for example, and thus will flow quite easily. Other medications are known that have a viscosity that is markedly different from water.
Fluid medications intended for use with animals are commonly marketed in multi-dose packaging, such as bottles that hold enough fluid for administering several doses. A bottle of medication might hold 500 milliliters, for example (equivalently, 500 cubic centimeters), which is roughly equivalent to 16.9 ounces. The bottle might be made of glass or plastic, and a container having a configuration other than a bottle might be used. Hereinafter, the term “bottle” is used for ease of reference, and by way of illustration and not of limitation, as a container type in which medication may be contained.
One reason for marketing animal medication in multi-dose bottles is economic. The cost of the medication may be reduced, for example, by selling a larger quantity container and thereby reducing the relative cost of the packaging. Another reason for marketing animal medication in multi-dose bottles is that the dosage of many (if not all) medications is prescribed with regard to the animal's body weight. Accordingly, the correct amount of medication to use on a particular animal can be calculated and then withdrawn from the multi-dose bottle, after which it may be injected into the animal, and the remaining medication is then available for subsequent use.
A multi-dose bottle of fluid medication is typically marketed with a rubber membrane covering at least a portion of an opening at the top of the bottle. Conventionally, the fluid medication is withdrawn from such bottle by placing a needle onto the tip of a syringe, inserting a tip of the needle into the rubber membrane, and withdrawing a plunger of the syringe until an appropriate amount of fluid is pulled into the syringe body (referred to herein as the syringe “barrel”); this same needle is then used for injecting the medication from the syringe into the animal.
A tab-shaped member 150 is also provided on syringe 100. When administering the medication from the barrel 130, a person's index finger is placed on the tab-shaped member 150 at one side of barrel 130 and the person's middle finger is placed on the tab-shaped member 150 at the opposing side of barrel 130, and the person's thumb is then used to depress the terminal end of plunger 120 into the barrel in order to expel the medication from the barrel.
As an alternative to the syringe 100 of
The tips 240, 340 may be generally on the order of ⅜ to 7/16 inch in diameter and generally of similar height (and similarly, tip 140), and are generally constructed of metal. An interior area of this tip is intended for securably attaching a needle and is generally threaded for at least a portion thereof. A height of this threaded area is generally on the order of ⅛ inch. (Notably, tips 240, 340 are not designed for inserting through the rubber membrane of a medicine bottle.)
For withdrawing fluid medication from a bottle into the barrel of syringe 100, 200, or 300 using known techniques, the sharp tip at the distal end of the needle 400 is inserted through the rubber membrane of the bottle. For subsequently administering the fluid medication from the barrel of the syringe, the sharp tip of that same needle is inserted into an animal's body, and the person holds tab-shaped member 150 while simultaneously depressing plunger 120 of syringe 100, squeezes the handles 210 of pistol-grip syringe 200, or holds tabbed member 350 while simultaneously depressing handle-style tabbed member 320 of tab-handled syringe 300.
This known approach of withdrawing fluid medication from a bottle using a needle and then administering the medication using the same needle works well for fluids having a low viscosity. (Consider, by way of reference, the relative ease of drawing a low-viscosity fluid such as water through the tip/opening of a needle 400 affixed to a syringe.) However, animal medications are marketed that have a relatively high viscosity (that is, they are relatively thick in consistency), and this higher viscosity makes the medications very difficult to withdraw from a bottle using a needle, and also typically more difficult to expel from the syringe. Stated another way, such higher-viscosity medications are not readily “syringeable”.
When a medication is not readily syringeable, it may take a considerable amount of time for the person tasked with withdrawing the medication from the bottle to withdraw even a small amount of medication. When a large amount of such medication must be administered, and/or when the higher-viscosity medication must be administered to multiple animals, the person may experience frustration or even fatigue due to this long withdrawal time. As a result, use of the higher-viscosity medication by animal care-givers may be diminished, which may lead to the medication failing to reach its potential market share. Thinning the medication is undesirable as an answer to improving the syringeability problem, as the effectiveness of the medication could be altered.
In addition to the above-described issues with withdrawing higher-viscosity medication into a syringe, the higher viscosity of the medication makes the injection process more time-consuming and physically more difficult for the person tasked with medicating the animal. In particular, the general configuration of a plastic syringe as illustrated in
In sharp contrast to use of a plastic syringe, the syringes 200, 300 of
In view of the above-described issues, preferred embodiments of the present invention are directed toward improved syringeability of medications having a relatively high viscosity. (The disclosed syringe adapter may function suitably with lower-viscosity medications as well, and is therefore not deemed to be limited to use with particular medications.)
A preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a new tip that operates as a syringe adapter for withdrawing medication from a bottle. This tip is preferably affixed to a pistol-grip syringe of the type illustrated in
A preferred diameter of the hole in the distal end of the tip of the syringe adapter is on the order of 0.10 inches, although embodiments are not limited to this diameter. Thickness of the sidewall of the syringe adapter is preferably on the order of 0.050 inches, although embodiments are not limited to this thickness. Using a sidewall thickness of 0.050 inches and an opening of 0.10 inches results in a syringe adapter having an overall diameter of 0.20 inches at the end to be inserted into the bottle of medication, in this example configuration.
Preferably, the proximal end of the disclosed syringe adapter attaches to a syringe using a Luer-type lock or a Luer-type slip. Luer-type locks and Luer-type slips are known approaches for making leak-free connections on fluid fittings, and are described in the above-cited International Standards. A Luer-type lock provides a threaded attachment, whereby two pieces of a configuration are held together by rotating a flanged area (such as flanged area 420 of
In another approach, the proximal end of the syringe adapter 500 may omit the flanged area shown at 510 and is attached and held to the distal end of the syringe by friction in a Luer-type slip approach.
A preferred material for the disclosed syringe adapter is plastic, which will allow it to be economically produced as a disposable item, although another material may be used without deviating from the scope of the present invention. Notably, the disclosed syringe adapter does not need to come into physical contact with a particular animal (i.e., because the syringe adapter will be replaced with a needle in order to inject the medication), and thus re-use of the syringe adapter for medicating multiple animals need not introduce cross-contamination concerns.
Use of the disclosed syringe adapter while medicating an animal operates as follows: the syringe adapter is affixed to a syringe (which, as noted earlier, is preferably a pistol-grip or tab-handled syringe); the syringe adapter is inserted into a bottle of medication; the plunger of the syringe is pulled back to withdraw the desired dosage of medication from the bottle into the syringe barrel; the syringe adapter is removed from the bottle, while the plunger remains stationary; the syringe adapter is replaced with a needle; and the medication is then injected into an animal by squeezing the pistol-grip handles or pressing down on the tabbed handle and thereby pushing the plunger forward to empty the syringe barrel. If it is desired to reuse the syringe adapter, then the needle is removed from the syringe, after which the above process is repeated.
While
It should be noted that while preferred embodiments are described herein as conforming to the above-cited International Standards and/or as using Luer-type connections to a syringe, this is by way of illustration but not of limitation. It should also be noted that the figures are directed toward illustrating aspects of the present invention, in combination with descriptions herein, and aspects shown therein (for example, length, width, and/or taper) are not necessarily drawn to scale.
While medications have been discussed herein as commonly being sold in a multi-dose bottle, this is by way of illustration and not of limitation. The disclosed syringe adapter may be used beneficially for medication that is sold in a single-use dosage.
Advantageously, the disclosed syringe adapter may be included with purchase (e.g., within the packaging) of a higher-viscosity medication. As one alternative, a multi-pack of the disclosed syringe adapter may be included with such purchase, particularly when the medication is sold in a multi-dose bottle. The disclosed syringe adapter may also be sold separately from medication.
Examples of higher-viscosity animal medications with which the disclosed syringe adapter may be used beneficially include Nuflor® and Resflor Gold®. (“Nuflor” and “Resflor Gold” are registered trademarks of Intervet Inc. in the United States, other countries, or both. Intervet is now known as “Merck Animal Health”.) These medications are commonly sold in 500-milliliter multi-dose bottles and may be administered, by way of example, in dosages of 36 to 60 milliliters per animal. Accordingly, a single multi-dose bottle may be used to treat generally 8 to 14 animals at this dosage range.
As noted earlier, viscosity of a substance may vary with temperature. Viscosity is commonly measured in units termed “centipoise”, which may be abbreviated as “cP” or “cps”. Water, at 70 degrees Fahrenheit, has a viscosity of approximately 1 cps, and by way of comparison, blood generally has a viscosity of about 10 cps. According to a study documented in “Syringeability and Viscosity Comparative of Different Florfenicol Formulations” by S. Colomer, et al., date unknown, the viscosity of Nuflor® at 5 degrees Celsius (which is approximately 41 degrees Fahrenheit) was 321 cps.
An embodiment of the present invention is believed to be advantageous for fluid medications having a viscosity of at least 50 to 100 cps at a temperature of at least 5 degrees Celsius, as well as for fluid medications having a higher cps at this temperature (noting, as stated above, that viscosity varies with temperature).
As has been demonstrated, an embodiment of the present invention improves syringeability of higher-viscosity medications, allowing such medication to be withdrawn from a bottle in much less time as compared to the known approach of withdrawal using a needle. More animals may therefore be medicated in a given period of time, leading to improved productivity of persons caring for the animals as well as enabling overall improved health for the animals. No longer will higher viscosity be a barrier to the market, and because medication of this type will be more readily administered when using a syringe adapter as disclosed herein, improvement may be expected in animal health, and market share and/or market presence for the medication may improve as well.
It should be noted that various features discussed herein with reference to “an embodiment”, “one embodiment”, “a preferred embodiment”, and so forth should not be construed as suggesting that each such feature is present in a single embodiment, or in every embodiment, of the present invention. Instead, it should be understood that there may be various combinations of the disclosed features present in any particular embodiment.
While embodiments of the present invention have been described, additional variations and modifications in those embodiments may occur to those skilled in the art once they learn of the basic inventive concepts. Therefore, it is intended that the appended claims shall be construed to include the described embodiments and all such variations and modifications as fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
822079 | Roussy | May 1906 | A |
2626603 | Gabriel | Jan 1953 | A |
2752919 | Gabriel | Jul 1956 | A |
3320954 | Cowley | May 1967 | A |
3436828 | Dragan | Apr 1969 | A |
3958570 | Vogelman et al. | May 1976 | A |
4046145 | Choksi et al. | Sep 1977 | A |
4294250 | Dennehey | Oct 1981 | A |
4316462 | Baker | Feb 1982 | A |
4338925 | Miller | Jul 1982 | A |
4472141 | Dragan | Sep 1984 | A |
4664655 | Orentreich et al. | May 1987 | A |
4758158 | Pierce et al. | Jul 1988 | A |
4758234 | Orentreich et al. | Jul 1988 | A |
4927417 | Moncada et al. | May 1990 | A |
5047021 | Utterberg | Sep 1991 | A |
5195985 | Hall | Mar 1993 | A |
5322510 | Lindner et al. | Jun 1994 | A |
5445523 | Fischer et al. | Aug 1995 | A |
5509911 | Cottone et al. | Apr 1996 | A |
5733258 | Lane | Mar 1998 | A |
5746733 | Capaccio et al. | May 1998 | A |
6117113 | Novacek et al. | Sep 2000 | A |
6511472 | Hayman et al. | Jan 2003 | B1 |
6787568 | Mihalik | Sep 2004 | B1 |
6790867 | Kohan et al. | Sep 2004 | B2 |
6981618 | Reisinger | Jan 2006 | B2 |
7347458 | Rome et al. | Mar 2008 | B2 |
7472932 | Weber et al. | Jan 2009 | B2 |
7682343 | Westbye | Mar 2010 | B2 |
7699609 | Lawter et al. | Apr 2010 | B2 |
7803139 | Fangrove, Jr. | Sep 2010 | B2 |
8034845 | Freehauf et al. | Oct 2011 | B2 |
8044102 | Kohan et al. | Oct 2011 | B2 |
D736915 | Schultz | Aug 2015 | S |
9295788 | Green | Mar 2016 | B2 |
9801788 | Banik et al. | Oct 2017 | B2 |
10709850 | Doubet et al. | Jul 2020 | B2 |
11071834 | Doubet et al. | Jul 2021 | B2 |
11090444 | Doubet et al. | Aug 2021 | B2 |
11097058 | Doubet et al. | Aug 2021 | B2 |
11173257 | Doubet | Nov 2021 | B2 |
20020173753 | Caizza et al. | Nov 2002 | A1 |
20030236501 | Donnan et al. | Dec 2003 | A1 |
20040039365 | Aramata et al. | Feb 2004 | A1 |
20040068266 | Delmotte | Apr 2004 | A1 |
20040116873 | Fojtik | Jun 2004 | A1 |
20060047251 | Bickford Smith et al. | Mar 2006 | A1 |
20060270996 | Fojtik | Nov 2006 | A1 |
20060271015 | Mantell | Nov 2006 | A1 |
20070060898 | Shaughnessy et al. | Mar 2007 | A1 |
20070183986 | Allred et al. | Aug 2007 | A1 |
20070203451 | Murakami et al. | Aug 2007 | A1 |
20080015539 | Pieroni et al. | Jan 2008 | A1 |
20080188816 | Shimazaki et al. | Aug 2008 | A1 |
20080287884 | Warden et al. | Nov 2008 | A1 |
20090182284 | Morgan | Jul 2009 | A1 |
20090227894 | Fojtik | Sep 2009 | A1 |
20110028909 | Lum et al. | Feb 2011 | A1 |
20120184938 | Lev et al. | Jul 2012 | A1 |
20130018354 | Sund et al. | Jan 2013 | A1 |
20130178806 | Felix-Faure et al. | Jul 2013 | A1 |
20130331810 | Bazala et al. | Dec 2013 | A1 |
20140066840 | Mantell | Mar 2014 | A1 |
20140261860 | Heath et al. | Sep 2014 | A1 |
20170165192 | Georges et al. | Jun 2017 | A1 |
20170203086 | Davis | Jul 2017 | A1 |
20180050183 | Taylor | Feb 2018 | A1 |
20180344570 | Davis et al. | Dec 2018 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
1923086 | Apr 2012 | EP |
20120107161 | Oct 2012 | KR |
10-2047319 | Nov 2019 | KR |
WO-2004096326 | Nov 2004 | WO |
2012023955 | Feb 2012 | WO |
2014145959 | Sep 2014 | WO |
2017091643 | Jun 2017 | WO |
Entry |
---|
“(Revised) List of Patents and/or Patent Applications to be Treated as Related”. Dec. 18, 2020. 2 pages. |
In re James T. Doubet, et al., U.S. Appl. No. 16/895,370, filed Jun. 8, 2020, Office Action, dated Oct. 15, 2020, 25 pages. |
PCT Application PCT/US2020/048978, International Search Report dated Nov. 10, 2020 (2 pages). |
PCT Application PCT/US2020/048978, Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority dated Nov. 10, 2020 (6 pages). |
PCT Application PCT/US2019/036774, International Search Report dated Sep. 16, 2019 (2 pages). |
PCT Application PCT/US2019/036774, International Search Report and Written Opinion dated Sep. 16, 2019 (7 pages). |
PCT Application PCT/US2020/061523, International Search Report dated Feb. 9, 2021 (3 pages). |
PCT Application PCT/US2020/061523, Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority dated Feb. 9, 2021 (8 pages). |
PCT Application PCT/US2019/056282, International Search Report dated Jan. 7, 2020 (2 pages). |
PCT Application PCT/US2019/056282, Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority dated Jan. 7, 2020 (5 pages). |
In re James T. Doubet, U.S. Appl. No. 16/393,696, filed Apr. 24, 2019, Office Action, dated Jan. 10, 2020, 16 pages. |
In re James T. Doubet, et al., U.S. Appl. No. 16/563,896, filed Sep. 8, 2019, Office Action, dated Jan. 10, 2020, 11 pages. |
In re James T. Doubet, et al., U.S. Appl. No. 16/698,471, filed Nov. 27, 2019, Office Action, dated Jan. 10, 2020, 14 pages. |
“(Revised) List of Patents or Patent Applications to be Treated as Related”. Feb. 26, 2020. 2 pages. |
In re James T. Doubet, et al., U.S. Appl. No. 16/563,896, filed Sep. 8, 2019, Office Action, dated Jan. 14, 2021, 22 pages. |
In re James T. Doubet, et al., U.S. Appl. No. 16/203,858, filed Nov. 29, 2018, Office Action, dated Jan. 21, 2021, 17 pages. |
In re James T. Doubet, et al., U.S. Appl. No. 16/895,370, filed Jun. 8, 2020, Office Action, dated Feb. 8, 2021, 22 pages. |
In re James T. Doubet, et al., U.S. Appl. No. 16/166,111, filed Oct. 21, 2018, Office Action, dated Jan. 11, 2021, 22 pages. |
“(Revised) List of Patents and/or Patent Applications to be Treated as Related”. Feb. 10, 2021. 2 pages. |
PCT Application PCT/US2019/036774, International Preliminary Report on Patentability dated Dec. 15, 2020 (6 pages). |
PCT Application PCT/US2019/062926, International Search Report dated Feb. 12, 2020 (2 pages). |
PCT Application PCT/US2019/062926, Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority dated Feb. 12, 2020 (6 pages). |
In re James T. Doubet, et al., U.S. Appl. No. 16/166,111, filed Oct. 21, 2018, Office Action, dated Apr. 3, 2020, 21 pages. |
In re James T. Doubet, et al., U.S. Appl. No. 16/203,858, filed Oct. 21, 2018, Office Action, dated Apr. 3, 2020, 22 pages. |
In re James T. Doubet, et al., U.S. Appl. No. 16/563,896, filed Sep. 8, 2019, Office Action, dated Aug. 27, 2020, 21 pages. |
In re James T. Doubet, et al., U.S. Appl. No. 16/166,111, filed Oct. 21, 2018, Office Action, dated Sep. 4, 2020, 20 pages. |
In re James T. Doubet, et al., U.S. Appl. No. 16/203,858, filed Nov. 29, 2018, Office Action, dated Sep. 22, 2020, 25 pages. |
“(Revised) List of Patents and/or Patent Applications to be Treated as Related”. Sep. 29, 2020. 2 pages. |
In re James T. Doubet, U.S. Appl. No. 16/393,696, filed Apr. 24, 2019, Office Action, dated Jun. 27, 2019, 17 pages. |
“List of Patents or Patent Applications to be Treated as Related”. Aug. 4, 2019. 2 pages. |
“(Revised) List of Patents or Patent Applications to be Treated as Related”. Sep. 27, 2019. 2 pages. |
Colomer, S., et al., “Syringeability and Viscosity Comparative of Different Florfenicol Formulations”, publication date unknown, printed from http://marketing.hipra.com/SELECTNEWS/trials/Syringeabiliy_viscosity_comparative_of_FLORFENICOL_formulations.pdf on May 14, 2018. 1 page. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20190380911 A1 | Dec 2019 | US |