WO2010043875A2

WO2010043875A2 - Improvements in and relating to injection syringes

Info

Publication number: WO2010043875A2
Application number: PCT/GB2009/002486
Authority: WO
Inventors: John L. Davies
Original assignee: Frontier Plastics Limited
Priority date: 2008-10-18
Filing date: 2009-10-16
Publication date: 2010-04-22
Also published as: WO2010043875A3; EP2370134A2; GB0819161D0

Abstract

Disclosed is an injection syringe (10) which includes a panel (16) which has indicia (22 Fig 2, 26 Fig 3) removable and/or exposable by means of scratching by a user. The indicia (22) are formed under a scratch-off material (20), or indicia (26) are printed on the barrel (12) of the syringe (10). Pressure sensitive materials may be used also.

Description

Improvements in and relating to injection syringes

This invention relates to injection syringes of the type used for subcutaneous or intravenous administration of a substance or drug, and in particular, but not exclusively, to the reduction of self-inflicted harm caused by users of such syringes.

It is generally accepted that there is a major risk of contracting blood borne diseases by sharing an intravenous needle attached to a syringe, typically when the needle and syringe is transferred between individuals. Even when free syringes are distributed, the same syringe is often used by one addict more than once for convenience, without them knowing if anyone has used it in the mean time. To inhibit syringe sharing it has been proposed to provide a writable area on the syringe which can be used to identify the user. However in practice the ink used for identification becomes smudged because it does not have time to dry, or identification is not made because no pen is available. The present invention provides an injection syringe characterised in that the syringe includes indicia removable and/or exposable by means of scratching by a user.

In this way a user can scratch off the indicia, or scratch a covering to expose or reveal certain indicia, in each case to provide unique identification of that user on the syringe. Thus the identity of a user of the syringe can be recorded on the syringe, without the need for additional equipment like pens etc. In one embodiment the indicia may be formed on or at a surface of the syringe, covered by a scratch-off material and said material may be a generally opaque covering such that said scratching reveals or exposes the indicia. Alternatively or as well as, indicia may be formed on the scratch-off material and that material can be removed by said scratching.

In an embodiment the indicia are formed on said material in one manner, such as in one colour, and formed on the surface of the syringe in a different manner, such as in a different colour, or more boldly. In that embodiment a user can scratch-off overlying indicia to reveal underlying indicia that shows said overlying material has been removed.

Thus the user can select the indicia which he or she wishes to associate with him/herself. Conveniently the indicia may be in the form of any combination of letters, and/or numerals, and/or symbols and/or colours. The symbols could be memorable shapes such as animal shapes or geometric shapes.

Preferably the indicia are formed on or adjacent the barrel of the syringe. Thus, the material is readily removable using one hand only, by scratching using the thumb nail while the barrel is held by the clenched fingers of that hand.

In an alternative embodiment there is provided a panel on the syringe having pressure sensitive areas which change colour under the application of scratching pressure, to reveal said indicia.

The indicia or material may be formed around only a portion of the circumference of the barrel of the syringe. It is then clear when viewed by a user of limited dexterity, to whom the syringe belongs without the need to rotate the barrel. According to another aspect the invention provides a kit for self injection, the kit including a sterile syringe as described in any one of the paragraphs above.

The invention extends to any novel features described herein or any novel combination of features described herein, whether or not those features are described in that combination.

The invention can be put into effect in many different ways, some specific examples only being described below with the aid of drawings wherein:-

Figure 1 shows a syringe according to the invention; Figure 2 shows a section of the syringe shown in Fig 1 ;

Figure 3 shows an alternative embodiment with the same section as shown in Fig 2; and

Figure 4 shows a self injecting kit.

Figure 1 shows a plastics disposable syringe 10, which has a barrel 12 a plunger 14 and a needle end 18. This arrangement is generally conventional and so is not discussed in any further detail.

The barrel 12 has a panel 16 which is the subject of this invention. The panel can take a number of forms. One such form is shown in Fig 2. Fig 2 is a section through the barrel 12 in plane A-A shown in Fig 1. Fig 2 shows the barrel 12 in section, having attached thereto a scratch-off panel 16 formed from a weak wax-containing ink 20 printed on to the barrel 12 by known means. The barrel has lightly embossed thereon indicia 22 and the ink 20 is overlaid on the indicia 22 to hide the indicia 22. In use the indicia 22 are in the form of memorable symbols, such as animals or geometric shapes, which tend to be more memorable than numbers or letters, particularly by persons with impaired memory, although any indicia can be used, including, simply, different single or multiple colours. In this embodiment, although not essential to the invention, there is provided further indicia 23 overlying but matching the indicia 22. Indicia 23 is in this instance a shape in a dull colour, whereas indicia 22 is the same shape in a brighter, more visible colour, which is readily recognisable as being the under- indicia 22 when compared to the dull colour of the overlaid indicia 23. The overlaid indicia 23 can be scratched off with the ink 20, to leave the brighter indicia 22 underneath. In this way it is readily apparent which part of the panel 16 has been scratched off by noting the colour of the indicia, and thereby, to whom the syringe belongs.

A further embodiment of the scratch-off panel is shown in Fig 3. The panel has the reference 16'. This panel serves the same function as panel 16, although its construction is different. Panel 16' includes indicia 26 in the form of symbols printed to the barrel 12 of the syringe in a known manner. The indicia 26 are formed from a material which is breakable by scratching to remove some or all of the indicia 26 and thereby provide an identification on the syringe barrel 12. The indicia material may be a wax-containing ink, paper adhered to the barrel 12, a metal foil heat sealed to the barrel, a breakable polymer material, or any suitable material, all of which can be scratched off with a finger nail.

It should be noted that the relative thicknesses of the layers 20, 22, 23, and 26 are exaggerated for clarity in the drawings, and in practice they would be considerably thinner than is shown when compared with the thickness of the barrel 12.

Referring to Fig 4, the syringe described above can be included in a substantially sterile kit 30 suitable for self injecting. The kit 30 may further include any one or more of a mixing pan, a sterile swab, sterile liquid, a syringe filter and harm reduction messages.

Alternative arrangements, modifications and equivalents to the arrangement described above and illustrated will be readily apparent to the skilled addressee. For example, rather than a scratch-off ink or scratch-off material, a pressure sensitive panel could be employed which when rubbed or scratched, reveals suitable indicia. The scratch off panel etc, could be positioned on the syringe at a point other than that shown, for example it may be positioned to one end of the barrel.

Claims

1. An injection syringe characterised in that the syringe includes indicia removable and/or exposable by means of scratching by a user.

2. An injection syringe as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the indicia are formed on or at a surface of the syringe, covered by a scratch-off material.

3. An injection syringe as claimed in claim 2, wherein said material is a generally opaque covering such that said scratching reveals or exposes the indicia.

4. An injection syringe as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said indicia are formed on the scratch-off material and that material can be removed by said scratching.

5. An injection syringe as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the indicia are formed on scratch-off material in one manner, and are formed on the surface of the syringe in a different manner, so that a user can scratch-off overlying indicia on the scratch-off material to reveal underlying indicia.

6. An injection syringe as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the indicia are in the form of any combination of letters, and/or numerals, and/or symbols and/or colours.

7. An injection syringe as claimed in claim 6, wherein the symbols are memorable shapes such as animal shapes or geometric shapes.

8. An injection syringe as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the indicia are formed on or adjacent the barrel of the syringe.

9. An injection syringe as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a panel on the syringe has pressure sensitive areas which change colour under the application of scratching pressure, to reveal said indicia.

10. An injection syringe as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the indicia or material is formed around only a portion of the circumference of the barrel of the syringe.

11. A kit for self injection, the kit including a sterile injection syringe as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10.