Moveable Dosage Control for Syringes

Moveable Dosage Control for Syringes

Syringes are used to transport liquids in a controlled manner.dose control syringe The liquid can be used for a variety of purposes, including medical treatment and laboratory work. Syringes come in different sizes for different purposes. For example, a syringe can hold milliliters (mL) for measuring liquids or cubic centimeters (cc) for measuring solids. Using the right size for a particular application ensures that the user will not be over or underdosing the medication. Incorrectly administered dosages are a major source of syringe-related errors. A syringe can be configured with a moveable locking dosage control to help reduce such errors.

A syringe assembly generally includes a syringe barrel, a needle or needle assembly mounted in the syringe barrel, a vial of medication closed with a stopper for engaging the needle, and a track disposed on or mounted to the syringe.dose control syringe A moveable locking dosage control rides in the track to limit the movement of the vial within the syringe barrel. In one embodiment, the locking mechanism is a ratchet bar, although other track constructions are contemplated. The ratchets correlate with dosage markings on the syringe barrel in a one to one fashion.

Some syringes are designed to reduce dosage miscalculation by labeling the syringe barrel with non-volumetric measuring indicia to eliminate weight to dosage conversions.dose control syringe While this construction does reduce the likelihood of inaccurate dosage administration, it does not solve the problem of incorrectly interpreting volume to weight measurements, which is still a significant source of syringe-related error.

Other syringes are designed to remove the need to draw medications into the syringe by having pre-filled vials which replace the syringe plunger and obviate the requirement to watch the syringe graduations during withdrawal of medication, making the syringe more ergonomic.dose control syringe However, this type of syringe is expensive and time consuming to manufacture.

The present invention provides a syringe which overcomes these and other shortcomings of prior art dosage control syringes by providing a device that allows a syringe operator to pre-set the amount of medication withdrawn by the syringe before use.dose control syringe The invention does so by providing a track with an adjustable lock member positioned thereon and a drug library which corresponds to the adjusted lock member.

During pre-setting of the syringe for a given medication, an operator inserts the medication to be dispensed into the syringe barrel through hole 70 and slides the dosage control 26 along the track 24 all the way to its bottom position. A pre-set amount of medication is then dispensed from the syringe.

The locked dosage control can then be moved to a new position on the track 24, thereby reducing the amount of medication withdrawn from the syringe by a pre-determined quantity. This allows the syringe to be used in a clinical setting where it is more likely that the proper dose will be dispensed by a clinician who can focus on the patient rather than trying to read the syringe graduations. The syringe can also be used for intramuscular injections because the syringe is clear transparent and allows a physician to visually verify that the correct amount of medication is being injected into the patient.