EP-4740856-A2 - APPLICATOR AND APPLICATOR ASSEMBLY

EP4740856A2EP 4740856 A2EP4740856 A2EP 4740856A2EP-4740856-A2

Abstract

According to one aspect of the present invention, an applicator and an applicator assembly capable of stably attaching a wearable unit to skin while inserting a transcutaneous sensor into an accurate subcutaneous position may be provided.

Inventors

CHOI, HYUN HO
SEONG, Yul Min
CHAE, Kyung Chul

Assignees

i-Sens, Inc.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20251020

Claims (15)

An applicator, comprising: a body housing in which a movement space is formed along a first direction; a sensor unit carrier provided to be movable along the movement space and comprising a fixing groove formed to be recessed on one surface thereof; a handle housing coupled to the body housing and configured such that at least a portion thereof is in contact with the sensor unit carrier to move together with the sensor unit carrier; and a fixing portion disposed on the body housing to move between a fixing position in which one end portion thereof is inserted into the fixing groove and a release position in which the one end portion is disengaged from the fixing groove.
The applicator of claim 1, wherein movement of the sensor unit carrier is restricted by the fixing portion positioned at the fixing position, and the movement restriction of the sensor unit carrier is released as the fixing portion moves to the release position.
The applicator of claim 1, wherein the fixing portion moves from the fixing position to the release position in a process of coupling the handle housing to the body housing.
The applicator of claim 1, wherein the fixing portion comprises: a support disposed to extend along a direction parallel to the first direction and provided to be torsionally deformable; a fixing protrusion portion provided to protrude toward the movement space from one surface of the support facing the movement space; and a pressing movement portion connected to the other surface opposite to the one surface of the support facing the fixing protrusion portion.
The applicator of claim 4, wherein the handle housing comprises a push arm extending toward the pressing movement portion from an inner one end of the handle housing, and wherein, during coupling of the handle housing to the body housing, a leading end portion of the push arm presses the pressing movement portion so that the fixing portion positioned at the fixing position transitionally moves to the release position.
The applicator of claim 5, wherein the pressing movement portion comprises a pressing movement wing portion provided at a position corresponding to the leading end portion of the push arm, and wherein the pressing movement wing portion is provided with a pressing movement inclined surface having an inclination becoming adjacent to the sensor unit carrier along the first direction.
The applicator of claim 6, wherein the push arm comprises a wing portion accommodation hole formed to extend along the first direction in a shape penetrating the push arm, and wherein after the fixing portion moves to the release position, at least one end of the pressing movement wing portion is disposed in an interior of the wing portion accommodation hole.
The applicator of claim 7, wherein the push arm further comprises a barrier provided on the leading end portion of the push arm adjacent to the fixing portion so as to close one end of the wing portion accommodation hole, and wherein one end of the pressing movement wing portion introduced into the interior of the wing portion accommodation hole contacts with the barrier, thereby restricting a return to an initial position of the handle housing moved in the first direction.
The applicator of claim 8, wherein as the leading end portion of the push arm presses the pressing movement inclined surface in the first direction, the support is torsionally deformed in a direction in which one end of the support to which the fixing protrusion portion and the pressing movement portion are connected moves away from the movement space.
The applicator of claim 4, wherein the body housing further comprises a column disposed to partition the movement space in an interior of the body housing, and wherein the support is formed by incision of one side wall of the column.
The applicator of claim 10, wherein the support is configured to be divided by a first incision groove and a second incision groove formed adjacent so as to at least partially incise the one side wall of the column.
An applicator assembly, comprising: a body housing in which a movement space is formed along a first direction, and in which a transmission unit is separably fixed and disposed at one end thereof; a sensor unit carrier comprising a fixing groove formed to be recessed on one side surface thereof, and configured to move in the movement space from an initial position to an insertion position together with a sensor unit including a transcutaneous sensor member to deliver the sensor unit to the transmission unit; a handle housing coupled to the body housing so as to be relatively movable with respect to the body housing and configured to move from a first position to a second position together with the sensor unit carrier by pressing of a user; and a fixing portion disposed on the body housing so as to move from a fixing position in which one end portion thereof is inserted into the fixing groove to a release position in which the one end portion is disengaged from the fixing groove, during a process of coupling the handle housing to the body housing or during a process in which the handle housing moves from the first position to the second position.
The applicator assembly of claim 12, wherein the handle housing comprises a push arm extending toward the fixing portion from an inner one end of the handle housing, and wherein a leading end portion of the push arm presses the fixing portion so that the fixing portion positioned at the fixing position moves to the release position.
The applicator assembly of claim 13, wherein when the handle housing is positioned at the first position, the leading end portion of the push arm is positioned at a position spaced apart from one end of the fixing portion or positioned at a position in contact with one end of the fixing portion, and wherein as the handle housing moves to the second position, the leading end portion of the push arm presses one end of the fixing portion so that the fixing portion moves to the release position.
The applicator assembly of claim 13, wherein the first position is a position of the handle housing when the sensor unit carrier is positioned at the initial position after completion of assembly of the applicator assembly, and wherein the second position is a position of the handle housing after the sensor unit carrier moves to the insertion position and the sensor unit is delivered to the transmission unit.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0157183, filed November 07, 2024, and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2025-0020605, filed February 18, 2025, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an applicator and an applicator assembly, and more specifically, relates to an applicator and an applicator assembly for inserting a transcutaneous sensor that detects biometric information into subcutaneous tissue. Description of the Related Art Chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus require continuous management. Diabetes mellitus is characterized by having almost no subjective symptoms in an early stage, but when diabetes mellitus progresses, characteristic symptoms such as polydipsia, polyphagia, polyuria, weight loss, general malaise, skin pruritus, cases in which wounds on hands and feet do not heal and last long appear, and the like. When diabetes mellitus progresses further, complications may occur which advance to visual impairment, hypertension, nephropathy, stroke, periodontal disease, muscle cramps and neuralgia, gangrene, and the like. In order to diagnose such diabetes mellitus and to manage such that progression to complications does not occur, systematic blood glucose measurement and treatment need to be performed in parallel. Patients with diabetes mellitus or persons in whom glucose levels at a reference value or more is detected in blood although progression to diabetes mellitus has not occurred, require continuous and periodic blood glucose measurement for management of diabetes mellitus or prevention of progression to diabetes mellitus. Currently, a blood sampling method in which blood is collected from a position such as a fingertip and the like, and blood glucose is measured in a unit of a single time constitutes a mainstream of blood glucose measurement methods. However, in the case of the blood sampling blood glucose measurement method, due to pain accompanied at the time of blood sampling, inconvenience generated therefrom, and the like, there is a limitation in continuous and periodic blood glucose measurement. Recently, in order to overcome the limitation of the blood sampling blood glucose measurement method, a blood glucose measurement system which measures blood glucose continuously and periodically by inserting a transcutaneous sensor into subcutaneous tissue has been developed and is being used. The blood glucose measurement system using the transcutaneous sensor is generally configured to include a wearable unit provided to be attachable to a human body including the transcutaneous sensor, an applicator which is provided to be coupled to the wearable unit in advance so as to attach the wearable unit to the human body at the same time as inserting the transcutaneous sensor into the subcutaneous tissue, and a receiving unit which processes information received from the wearable unit. Meanwhile, in terms of hygiene, infection prevention, and the like, the wearable unit is generally provided to be discarded after a single wearing, and the applicator is also generally provided to be discarded after a single firing. That is, when the transcutaneous sensor is not inserted into an accurate subcutaneous position or the wearable unit is not normally attached to the skin, the corresponding wearable unit and the applicator need to each be discarded regardless of their respective usage lifetimes. Therefore, in order to improve the convenience of use and economic efficiency of the blood glucose measurement system using the transcutaneous sensor, there is a need for an applicator which may insert the transcutaneous sensor into an accurate subcutaneous position and may also attach the wearable unit stably to the skin. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One aspect of the present invention is to provide an applicator and an applicator assembly capable of stably attaching a wearable unit to skin while inserting a transcutaneous sensor into an accurate subcutaneous position. The object of the present invention is not limited to the above description. A person with ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains will have no difficulty in readily understanding additional objects of the present invention from the overall contents of the present specification. An applicator, according to one aspect of the present invention, may comprise: a body housing in which a movement space is formed along a first direction; a sensor unit carrier provided to be movable along the movement space and comprising a fixing groove formed to be recessed on one surface thereof; a handle housing coupled to the body housing and configured such that by at least a portion thereof is in contact with the sensor unit carrier to move together with the sensor unit carrier; and a fixing portion disposed on the body housing so