Anesthetic Syringe
A syringe assembly for dispensing medicine from a cartridge having a diaphragm and a piston opposite the diaphragm. The assembly includes a barrel having a hollow interior, an open proximal end, a closed distal end, and an outlet. The assembly also includes a cartridge receiver slidably receivable in the hollow interior of the barrel. The receiver includes an interior space for receiving the cartridge, an access needle extending into the interior space for puncturing the diaphragm of the cartridge. The access needle directs fluid to the barrel outlet. The cartridge receiver includes a plunger rod movable into the interior space of the cartridge receiver for engaging the piston of the cartridge to selectively force medicine in the cartridge through the access needle.
This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application 61/471,903 filed Apr. 5, 2011, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUNDThe present invention generally relates to devices for injecting liquid medications from prefilled cartridges and more particularly to single use disposable syringe assemblies for injecting local anesthetics.
Many dental procedures use anesthetic to numb an area of a patient's mouth to reduce pain and discomfort a patient may feel. Conventionally, a re-usable breech-loading, metallic, cartridge-type syringe assembly is used to inject the anesthetic. The dental syringe assembly includes a syringe, a cartridge, and a needle. The syringe may be constructed of chrome-plated brass and stainless steel and may include a needle adapter, a syringe barrel, a plunger rod, a finger grip, and a thumb ring. Typically, the syringe must be sterilized before each use.
Generally, the cartridge or carpule is a vial containing a local anesthetic among other ingredients. The cartridge may include a glass cylinder, a piston, and a rubber diaphragm held in position by an aluminum band. The cartridge is usually wiped with alcohol prior to being loaded into the syringe.
The needle of the dental syringe permits local anesthetic to travel from the dental cartridge into tissue surrounding the needle tip. Needles may be pre-sterilized and disposable. The needle may consist of a single piece of metal tubing surrounded by a plastic or a metal needle hub attached to the needle adapter of the syringe.
Assembly of a dental syringe often requires removing a sterilized syringe from its container and placing an alcohol wiped cartridge into the syringe with the plunger rod of the syringe fully retracted. The rubber diaphragm on a distal end of the cartridge is inserted into the syringe first and the plunger rod engages the piston positioned at a proximal end of the cartridge. The syringe includes an access needle for puncturing the cartridge. As the plunger rod advances, anesthetic is forced out of the cartridge toward a need assembly. The needle assembly including a needle and protective cap may be secured to the syringe. The protective cap is removed from the needle and the syringe is ready for use
After the assembled dental syringe is used, the needle assembly must be recapped, disconnected from the syringe and disposed in a sharps container, and the cartridge must be removed and disposed in a biohazard bag or sharps container. Thereafter, the syringe may be sterilized for its next use.
SUMMARYIn one aspect, the present invention includes a syringe assembly for dispensing medicine from a cartridge having a diaphragm and a piston opposite the diaphragm. The assembly comprises a barrel having a hollow interior, an open proximal end extending into the hollow interior, a closed distal end opposite the proximal end, and an outlet adapted for fluid communication with a delivery needle for delivering medicine to tissue of a subject. The assembly also includes a cartridge receiver slidably receivable in the hollow interior of the barrel. The cartridge receiver includes an interior space sized and shaped for receiving the cartridge, an access needle extending into the interior space of the cartridge receiver for puncturing the diaphragm of the cartridge received in the interior space to access medicine. The access needle directs fluid to the barrel outlet when the cartridge receiver is received in the hollow interior of the barrel. The cartridge receiver further comprises a plunger rod movable into the interior space of the cartridge receiver for engaging the piston of the cartridge received in the receiver to selectively force medicine in the cartridge through the access needle.
Other aspects of the present invention will be apparent in view of the following description and claims.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSReferring to
In addition, the syringe assembly 30 includes a cartridge receiver, generally designated by 50, slidably received in the barrel 32. The cartridge receiver 50 includes an interior wall 52 defining a interior space 54 sized and shaped for receiving a conventional cartridge C containing medicine (e.g., anesthetic). The cartridge receiver 50 includes a removable distal cap or cover 56 having an access needle 58. The access needle 58 includes a distal delivery point 60 and a sharp proximal access point 62 adapted to penetrate a diaphragm D of the cartridge C. An elastomeric seal 64 surrounds the cap 56 for sealingly engaging the inner wall 34 of the barrel 32. An outer surface 70 of the cartridge receiver 50 includes spaced ribs 72 for guiding the receiver as it reciprocates in the barrel 32. A proximal end of the receiver 50 includes scalloped sides 74 for receiving fingers of the user. Further, the proximal end of the receiver 50 includes an outer thumb ring 76 that is used when the syringe assembly 30 is readied for injection as will be explained in detail below.
A plunger rod 80 extends inside the cartridge receiver and engages a piston P on the cartridge C. A proximal end of the plunger rod 80 includes a thumb ring 82. The plunger rod 80 extends through an opening 84 in the thumb ring 76 of the cartridge receiver 50. As shown in
A second embodiment of a syringe assembly 30′ of the present invention is shown in
In a third embodiment of the present invention shown in
In a fifth embodiment illustrated in
Various portions of the syringe assembly may be made reusable to minimize waste. By selectively choosing the portions of the syringe assembly that are disposable, the need for sterilization may be minimized or eliminated. For example, in one embodiment illustrated in
In another embodiment of a syringe assembly, generally designated by 130 in
The syringe assembly designated by 162 in
In some dental operations, anesthetic is desired over a broad area of tissue. Pulling a needle out of tissue and repositioning it to inject anesthetic in a different area can be painful for the patient. Thus, there is a need for a dental syringe that is capable of spreading anesthetic from a single injection site.
As previously mentioned, some patients become agitated or anxious at the sight of a conventional aspirating syringe. In order to provide less intimidating form factors for syringe assemblies, various modifications can be made to their configurations and appearance. For example, the syringe assembly may be colored to blend with the user's gloves, thereby camouflaging the syringe assembly. Alternately, the delivery needle 102 may be configured to extend perpendicular to a primary axis A of the syringe assembly, generally designated by 190, as illustrated in
An alternate embodiment of a syringe assembly, designated generally by 210 in
Having described the invention in detail, it will be apparent that modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention defined in the appended claims.
When introducing elements of the present invention or the preferred embodiment(s) thereof, the articles “a”, “an”, “the”, and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising”, “including”, and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements.
As various changes could be made in the above constructions, products, and methods without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.
Claims
1-20. (canceled)
21. A syringe assembly comprising:
- a barrel having an interior wall, an exterior wall, a proximal end, a distal end, the interior wall, exterior wall, proximal end, and distal end defining an interior volume of the barrel, and an annular magnification element surrounding the exterior wall of the barrel;
- a delivery needle extending distally from the distal end of the barrel; and
- a plunger rod movable within the interior volume defined by the barrel to eject a liquid through the delivery needle.
22. The syringe assembly of claim 21, further comprising a cartridge receiver within the interior volume of the barrel, the cartridge receiver including an interior for receiving a cartridge having a diaphragm and a piston.
23. The syringe assembly of claim 22, further comprising an access needle having a proximal delivery point to penetrate the diaphragm of the cartridge, and a distal delivery point extending into a barrel outlet adaptor for dispensing the liquid.
24. The syringe assembly of claim 22, wherein the plunger rod extends into an interior of the cartridge receiver for engagement with the piston of the cartridge.
25. The syringe assembly of claim 22, wherein the cartridge receiver includes an opening for loading the cartridge into the interior of the cartridge receiver and a cover for selectively covering the opening to retain the cartridge in the interior space.
26. The syringe assembly of claim 22, further comprising an access adapter within the cartridge for engaging the delivery needle.
27. The syringe assembly of claim 21, wherein the plunger rod includes a thumb ring for manipulating the syringe assembly.
28. The syringe assembly of claim 21, wherein the barrel further comprises a finger flange extending outward from the exterior wall of the barrel.
29. The syringe assembly of claim 28, wherein the finger flange extends radially outward from the proximal end of the barrel.
30. The syringe assembly of claim 21, wherein the annular magnification element is polished for magnifying the contents of the barrel.
31. The syringe assembly of claim 21, wherein the annular magnification element is convex for magnifying the contents of the barrel.
32. The syringe assembly of claim 23, further comprising a quick release coupling to engage or disengage the delivery needle to the barrel.
33. The syringe assembly of claim 21, wherein the annular magnification element surrounds the barrel adjacent to the delivery needle for monitoring flashback flowing backward through the delivery needle.
34. The syringe assembly of claim 31, wherein the convex annular magnification element surrounds the barrel adjacent to the cartridge and the diaphragm for monitoring flashback flowing backward through the delivery needle.
35. The syringe assembly of claim 21, wherein the barrel is formed of a transparent material.
36. The syringe assembly of claim 22, wherein the cartridge is formed of a transparent material.
37. The syringe assembly of claim 22, wherein the diaphragm is formed of a transparent material.
38. The syringe assembly of claim 21, wherein the annular magnification element is molded integrally with the barrel.
39. The syringe assembly of claim 22, wherein the cartridge receiver further comprises an exterior having a plurality of spaced ribs for engaging the interior wall of the barrel.
40. The syringe assembly of claim 22, wherein the piston is positioned at a proximal end of the cartridge.
41. The syringe assembly of claim 22, wherein the diaphragm is positioned at a distal end of the cartridge.
42. The syringe assembly of claim 22, wherein the cartridge receiver further comprises a cap for sealably engaging the interior wall of the barrel.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 21, 2016
Publication Date: Sep 22, 2016
Inventors: David Selvitelli (Suffield, CT), Edward Brundidge, III (Cumberland, RI), Mark Callahan (Medway, MA), Jeffrey Delnickas (Kingston, MA), Teshtar Elavia (Weymouth, MA), Melvin Finke (Deland, FL), Viviana Guerriero (Braintree, MA), Loredana Jinga (North Attleboro, MA), Brian Sharp (Johnston, RI), Kathleen Tremblay (Westfield, MA)
Application Number: 15/075,277