KR-20260068116-A - Medical injector for on-body mounting with flow detection

Abstract

In one embodiment, a medical injector is provided for mounting on a user's skin to administer a volume of liquid drug to a user, and the medical injector comprises: a body receiving a reservoir of liquid drug; a cannula for insertion into the user's skin; a conduit for fluidly connecting the body and the cannula to allow the liquid drug to be transferred to the cannula—the conduit comprises a tubular metal section—; a temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the metal section; and a CPU for collecting periodic temperature measurements from the temperature sensor to evaluate the temperature change of the metal section over time. Advantageously, the present invention allows for a non-invasive mode of detecting drug flow in an on-body medical injector.

Inventors

• 맥로린, 마틴, 존
• 호완스키, 마크, 스티븐
• 지민스키, 스티븐, 로렌스
• 머피, 브라이언, 그레고리

Assignees

• 브리스톨-마이어스 스큅 컴퍼니

Dates

Publication Date

20260513

Application Date

20240917

Priority Date

20230918

Claims (20)

1. As a medical injector for attaching to a user's skin to administer a dose of liquid drug to the user, the medical injector is: A main body accommodating a reservoir for liquid drugs; A cannula for insertion into the user's skin; A conduit for fluidly connecting the main body and the cannula to allow liquid medication to be transferred to the cannula - the conduit comprises a tubular metal section - ; A temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of a metal section; and A medical injector comprising a CPU for collecting periodic temperature measurements from a temperature sensor and determining temperature changes between continuous periodic temperature measurements from a temperature sensor of a metal section when evaluating the flow of liquid drug through a conduit.
2. A medical injector according to claim 1, wherein the temperature sensor is one or more of: a thermistor; a thermocouple; a semiconductor-based temperature sensor; a resistance temperature detector (RTD); and an infrared (IR) temperature sensor.
3. A medical injector according to claim 1, wherein the metal section is positioned very close to the cannula.
4. A medical injector according to claim 1, further comprising an actuator for initiating the delivery of a liquid drug from a reservoir into a conduit for transfer to a cannula.
5. In paragraph 4, a medical injector in which a temperature sensor measures the temperature of a metal section before the initiation of liquid drug delivery.
6. A medical injector according to claim 1, further comprising a second temperature sensor for direct contact with the user's skin to measure the temperature of the user's skin while the medical injector is mounted on the user's skin.
7. In paragraph 6, the CPU collects periodic temperature measurements from a second temperature sensor, a medical injector.
8. A medical injector according to claim 6, wherein the cannula is mounted on a hub separated from and spaced apart from the main body, and the second temperature sensor is associated with the hub.
9. A medical injector according to claim 1, wherein the metal section generally has a constant internal cross-section.
10. A medical injector according to claim 1, wherein the cannula is mounted on a hub separated from the main body.
11. In paragraph 10, a medical injector in which the metal section is positioned along a conduit between the main body and the hub.
12. In paragraph 11, a medical injector in which the metal section is positioned very close to the hub.
13. A medical injector according to claim 1, wherein the portion of the conduit adjacent to the metal section is non-metallic.
14. As a medical injector for attaching to a user's skin to administer a dose of liquid drug to the user, the medical injector is: A main body accommodating a reservoir for liquid drugs; A cannula for insertion into the user's skin; A conduit for fluidly connecting the main body and the cannula to allow liquid medication to be transferred to the cannula - the conduit comprises a tubular metal section - ; An electric heating element configured to generate heat and apply it to a metal section; A temperature sensor insulated from a heating element to measure the temperature of a metal section; and A medical injector comprising a CPU for collecting periodic temperature measurements from a temperature sensor and determining temperature changes between continuous periodic temperature measurements from a temperature sensor of a metal section when evaluating the flow of liquid drug through a conduit.
15. In paragraph 14, a medical injector, wherein the temperature sensor is one or more of: a thermistor; a thermocouple; a semiconductor-based temperature sensor; a resistance temperature detector (RTD); and an infrared (IR) temperature sensor.
16. In paragraph 14, a medical injector in which the heating element and the temperature sensor are mounted on a common substrate.
17. In paragraph 14, a medical injector in which the metal section is positioned very close to the cannula.
18. In paragraph 14, a medical injector in which the heating element is a resistor.
19. A medical injector according to claim 14, further comprising an actuator for initiating the delivery of a liquid drug from a reservoir into a conduit for transfer to a cannula.
20. In paragraph 19, a medical injector in which a heating element applies heat to a metal section before the initiation of delivery of a liquid drug.

Description

Medical injector for on-body mounting with flow detection The present invention relates to an on-body medical injector, in particular to an on-body injector having flow detection. On-body medical injectors are known in the prior art. Typically, these medical injectors include a body that accommodates a reservoir of injectable drug. The body includes an adhesive pad for adhering to the user's skin at a target site (e.g., the user's abdomen or side). The body further includes a switch that triggers the operation of the injector once mounted. The operation may cause a cannula to be automatically inserted into the patient when prepared for infusion. With the cannula inserted into the patient, the drug is delivered by an automated system, such as by pressurizing from the reservoir using a motor-driven plunger. On-body medical infusion devices are primarily intended for home use. The cannula is typically concealed before use to alleviate anxiety. Additionally, as medical professionals may not be present, efforts are made to ensure the best possible proper operation. On-body infusion devices typically carry a larger volume of solids than can be delivered by standard syringes. Therefore, drug delivery is prolonged to allow the user's body to accept the medication at a manageable rate. Complete and proper delivery of the medication is critical. Problems may arise because the body of the infusion device is typically opaque, preventing proper needle insertion and visual confirmation of drug flow. In one aspect of the present application, a medical injector is provided for mounting on a user's skin to administer a volume of liquid drug to a user, and the medical injector comprises: a body receiving a reservoir of liquid drug; a cannula for insertion into the user's skin; a conduit for fluidly connecting the body and the cannula to allow the liquid drug to be transferred to the cannula—the conduit comprises a tubular metal section—; a temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the metal section; and a CPU for collecting periodic temperature measurements from the temperature sensor to evaluate the temperature change of the metal section over time. In another aspect of the present application, a medical injector is provided for mounting on a user's skin to administer a volume of liquid drug to a user, and the medical injector comprises: a body receiving a reservoir of liquid drug; a cannula for insertion into the user's skin; a conduit for fluidly connecting the body and the cannula to allow the liquid drug to be transferred to the cannula—the conduit comprises a tubular metal section—; an electric heating element configured to generate heat and apply it to the metal section; a temperature sensor insulated from the heating element to measure the temperature of the metal section; and a CPU for collecting periodic temperature measurements from the temperature sensor to evaluate the temperature change of the metal section over time. Advantageously, the present invention allows a non-invasive mode for detecting drug flow in an on-body medical injector. These and other features of the present invention will be better understood through the study of the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. FIGS. 1 and FIGS. 2 illustrate an on-body medical injector that can be used in the present invention. FIG. 3 schematically illustrates an array for detecting the flow of liquid drug within an on-body medical injector according to the present invention. Figure 4 is a graph illustrating temperature measurements by the array according to Figure 3 collected over time. Figure 5 is an array of Figure 3 modified into an additional temperature sensor for contacting the user's skin and measuring the temperature. Figure 6 is a graph showing temperature measurements by the additional temperature sensor of Figure 5 collected over time. Referring to the drawings, a medical injector is illustrated and is generally indicated by reference numeral 10. The medical injector (10) is an on-body medical injector having a main body (12) and a cannula (14) for insertion into a user's skin for drug delivery. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the cannula (14) may be provided separated and spaced apart from the main body (12). This allows for separate mounting of the main body (12) and the cannula (14) on the user's skin. A conduit (16) is provided to fluidly connect the main body (12) and the cannula (14). The main body (12) includes a reservoir (18) for liquid drug (20) delivered to the user by a medical injector (10). The reservoir (18) may be any shape capable of holding liquid drug (20), including but not limited to vials, barrels, sealed tubes, capsules, blister packs, thermoforms (e.g., sealed clamshell packages), etc. The reservoir (18) may be rigid or foldable. The conduit (16) is arranged to transfer liquid drug (20) from the reservoir (18) to the cannula (14). Any mode of pressurizing the liquid drug (20) from the reservoir (18), in