Adjustable Injector
Developed for Patients
Big and Small
Having access to immediate treatment during emergencies such as
allergic reactions or a chemical attack
is critical. Although autoinjectors are
already on the market to address these
situations, a concept devised by two
doctors takes the idea a step further
by providing a mechanism to adjust
medication dosage and needle depth
based on a patient’s size and age.
“A limitation with current autoinjectors is that they’re fixed single-dose
devices,” says William Bozeman, MD,
of Wake Forest University (Winston
Salem, NC). “A fixed dose is inappropriate and potentially dangerous
in a lot of situations.” Bozeman
developed the device concept with
Robert Luten,
MD, a professor of emergency
medicine at the
University of Bozeman is eager
Florida’s College to work with a com-
of Medicine. pany to manufacture
Part of the an autoinjector that
autoinjector de- adjusts to a patient’s
signed by the age and size.
doctors is similar
to devices on the market. A storage area
holds the medication, a plunger deploys
upon hitting the trigger, and a spring-loaded needle delivers the drug into the
patient. The design aspect that differs is
a spiral internal mechanism that adjusts
the medication dose as the user turns
the knob. As the stop moves, it adjusts
the depth of the needle that emerges.
An indicator allows the user to match
the size and age of the patient.
Bozeman explains that some medications have negative side effects and can
be fatal if overdosed. Similarly, getting
too little of a dose won’t treat a condition properly and can result in death,
especially with an allergic reaction.
Inadequate needle length is another
problem with autoinjectors. If the device contains the correct amount of
medicine but doesn’t go deep enough,
the medication could be delivered to
the wrong area and thus would be
ineffective.
The autoinjector designed by the
team can administer a variety of medications, and it has self-administration
capability, which is helpful for patients
who take daily medications at home.
Another version of the device contains a dry-powder medication for
long-term storage and a separate cham-
ber with a liquid to reconstitute it. The
user can mix the two chambers and
then inject the drug.
The inventors have filed for a patent
and are eager to work with a commercial entity that can create a prototype and conduct testing that can move
the product into the market. Bozeman
thinks the first use of the device will be
to administer epinephrine. —MF
