Needle-less injector and method of fluid delivery

Abstract

A method and system of manufacturing a needle-less injector to deliver an injection having a pre-determined injection dosage. The method and system include providing an injector housing, installing a compressible coiled delivery spring within the housing, and selecting a hammer having a length from a plurality of alternative hammers having different lengths, wherein the length of the selected hammer corresponds to the pre-determined injection dosage. The method further includes installing the selected hammer within the housing in contact with the compressible coiled delivery spring and further in contact with a syringe plunger such that upon assembly of the needle-less injector, decompression of the compressible coiled delivery spring causes the selected hammer to move laterally, thereby causing the syringe plunger to move laterally within a needle-less syringe to provide an injection having the pre-determined injection dosage corresponding to the length of the selected hammer.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of manufacturing a needle-less injector to deliver an injection having a pre-determined injection dosage, said method comprising:
 providing an injector housing;   installing a compressible coiled delivery spring within the housing;   selecting a hammer having a length from a plurality of alternative hammers having different lengths, wherein the length of the selected hammer corresponds to the pre-determined injection dosage;   installing the selected hammer within the housing in contact with the compressible coiled delivery spring and further in contact with a syringe plunger, such that decompression of the compressible coiled delivery spring causes the selected hammer to move laterally, thereby causing the syringe plunger to move laterally within a needle-less syringe to provide an injection having the pre-determined injection dosage corresponding to the length of the selected hammer.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the pre-determined injection dosage can be varied from 0.1 cc to 1 cc by installing a hammer having a length corresponding to the pre-determined injection dosage, without varying a size of the needle-less syringe or plunger. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising co-forming the selected hammer and plunger as a single piece. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising forming the selected hammer and plunger as separate pieces. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 providing a plurality of alternative compressible coiled delivery springs having different spring weights; and 
 selecting one compressible coiled delivery spring from the plurality of compressible coiled delivery springs and installing the selected compressible coiled delivery spring within the housing. 
 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5  further comprising selecting the one compressible coiled delivery spring to configure the needle-less injector to cause an injection into an intradermal layer. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5  further comprising selecting the one compressible coiled delivery spring to configure the needle-less injector to cause an injection into an intramuscular layer. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 5  further comprising selecting the one compressible coiled delivery spring to configure the needle-less injector to provide an injection to an adult. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 5  further comprising selecting the one compressible coiled delivery spring to configure the needle-less injector to provide an injection to a child. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 5  further comprising:
 selecting the one compressible coiled delivery spring to manufacture the needle-less injector to provide an injection to a patient having a first skin thickness; and 
 selecting a second compressible coiled delivery spring to manufacture a second needle-less injector to provide an injection to a patient having a second skin thickness, which is less than the first skin thickness. 
 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 5  further comprising providing a storage case for the needle-less injector that includes a surface that is color coded to inform a user of the spring weight of the one compressible coiled delivery spring. 
     
     
         12 . A system for manufacturing a needle-less injector to deliver an injection having a pre-determined dosage, said system comprising:
 an injector housing;   a compressible coiled delivery spring installed within the housing;   a plurality of alternative hammers having different lengths, wherein each different hammer length corresponds to a different injection dosage, such that a hammer having a selected length installed within the housing in contact with the compressible coiled delivery spring and further in contact with a syringe plunger will, upon decompression of the compressible coiled delivery spring, provide the injection through a needle-less syringe, said injection having the pre-determined dosage corresponding to the length of the selected hammer.   
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the pre-determined dosage deliverable by the assembled needle-less injector can be selected to be within the range of 0.1 cc to 1 cc solely by installing a hammer having a length corresponding to the pre-determined dosage. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 12  wherein the selected hammer and plunger are co-formed as a single piece. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 12  wherein the selected hammer and plunger are formed as separate pieces. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 12  further comprising a plurality of alternative compressible coiled delivery springs having different spring weights, wherein one compressible coiled delivery spring is selected from the plurality of compressible coiled delivery springs. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16  wherein the plurality of alternative compressible coiled delivery springs having different spring weights comprises at least one compressible coiled delivery spring to cause an injection into an intradermal layer and at least one other compressible coiled delivery spring to cause an injection in to an intramuscular tissue layer. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 16  wherein the plurality of alternative compressible coiled delivery springs having different spring weights includes at least one compressible coiled delivery spring to provide an injection to an adult and at least one other compressible coiled delivery spring to cause an injection to a child. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 16  wherein the plurality of alternative compressible coiled delivery springs having different spring weights includes at least one compressible coiled delivery spring to cause an injection into a patient having a first skin thickness and at least one other compressible coiled delivery spring to cause an injection into a patient having a second skin thickness, which is less than the first skin thickness. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 16  further comprising a storage case for the assembled needle-less injector having a surface that is color coded to indicate to a user the spring weight of the compressible coiled delivery spring installed in the assembled needle-less injector.