United States Patent:  6,117,443

Assignee:  DELAB (Paris, FR)

Filed:  June 22, 1999

A needle-less device for the parenteral administration of a medicament is disclosed. The medicament has the shape of one end of a toothpick. It is placed in the bore of a barrel with the barrel having the shape of a nose cone at one end. A plunger is inserted into the other end of the bore. The plunger forces the medicament through the skin and into the subcutaneous layer of the patient without the need for penetration of the skin by a needle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The applicant has now discovered a comparatively inexpensive device for the ready administration of solid or semi-solid drugs by the parenteral route. The applicant's device avoids completely the need for a needle. The solid drug is injected directly through the skin of a patient, e.g., a human or animal, by a plunger which enters the skin only to the degree necessary to position the solid drug. The medicament is suitably made in the shape of the end of a toothpick, i.e., it has a pointed end which gradually tapers to a cylindrical portion. The medicament has sufficient structural strength so that it car penetrate through the skin into the subcutaneous layer when it is administered with the parenteral introduction device of the present invention. Thus, the drug penetrates the skin and there is no need for the expense of discomfort of a needle to administer the drug parenterally. The present invention also includes an automatic device that can contain a number of doses of medicament which can be administered to a series of patients, one after the other.

Claim 1 of 11 Claims

1. A needle-less device for administering a medicament in solid form, the device comprising

a housing;

a barrel member connected to the housing, the barrel member comprising a bore for receipt of the medicament, the bore having first and second ends;

a fluid reservoir arranged within the housing;

a conduit arranged to conduct fluid from the reservoir to the first end of the bore in the barrel;

a valve arranged within the conduit between the reservoir and the first end of the bore; and

an operating button operatively connected on the valve,

wherein the operating button is depressed to open the valve to enable fluid to flow from the reservoir through the conduit and into the first end of the bore to move the medicament in the bore out of the second end of the bore and through the skin of a patient when the barrel member is pressed against the skin of the patient.

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