US20080167620A1 - Disposable infusion device facilitating tissue fold formation for cannula deployment and method - Google Patents

Abstract

A device and method facilitates the forming of a skin fold during deployment of a cannula. The device may be a disposable infusion device and the method comprises adhering, to a skin surface, a base member having a port for receiving a cannula, forming a skin fold having skin surfaces sloping away from opposite sides of the base member, driving a cannula through the port of the base member while maintaining the skin fold, and releasing the skin fold. To facilitate the forming of the skin fold, the device comprises a base having a base surface and a flexible layer member. The flexible layer member has a first surface adjacent the base surface and a second surface adapted to be adhered to a patient's skin. The first surface has a first portion adhered to a portion of the base surface and a second portion adherable to the base surface.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
• Tight control over the delivery of insulin in both type I diabetes (usually juvenile onset) and type II diabetes (usually late adult onset), has been shown to improve the quality of life as well as the general health of these patients. Insulin delivery has been dominated by subcutaneous injections of both long acting insulin to cover the basal needs of the patient and by short acting insulin to compensate for meals and snacks. Recently, the development of electronic, external insulin infusion pumps has allowed the continuous infusion of fast acting insulin for the maintenance of the basal needs as well as the compensatory doses (boluses) for meals and snacks. These infusion systems have shown to improve control of blood glucose levels. However, they suffer the drawbacks of size, cost, and complexity. For example, these pumps are electronically controlled and must be programmed to supply the desired amounts of basal and bolus insulin. This prevents many patients from accepting this technology over the standard subcutaneous injections.
• Hence, there is a need in the art for a convenient form of insulin treatment which does not require significant programming or technical skills to implement to service both basal and bolus needs. Preferably, such a treatment would be carried out by an infusion device that is simple to use and mechanically driven negating the need for batteries and the like. It would also be preferable if the infusion device could be directly attached to the body and not require any electronics to program the delivery rates. The insulin is preferably delivered through a small, thin-walled tubing (cannula) through the skin into the subcutaneous tissue similar to technologies in the prior art.
• While the idea of such a simple insulin delivery device is compelling, many obstacles must be overcome before such a device may become a practical realty. One problem resides in insulin supply. Patients vary greatly on the amount of insulin such a device must carry to provide treatment over a fixed time period of, for example, three days. This is one environment where one size does not fit all.
• Another problem is with cannula deployment to support insulin delivery. Cannula deployment to support delivery of the insulin beneath the patient's skin must be made easy and convenient. This is not as easy as it seems because cannula deployment, as generally and currently performed in the art, requires insertion of a cannula-carrying needle into the patient and then retraction of only the needle to leave the cannula in place beneath the patient's skin.
• When needles are introduced beneath a patient's skin, during an injection, for example, it is well known that the pain associated with the injection may be reduced by forming a fold in the skin at the injection site prior to the injection. The fold of skin can also increase the probability that only soft tissue will be affected during the injection. However, the forming of such a skin fold when the needle is also being driven through an associated device, such as in infusion device, for example, to deliver a cannula to a deployed position extending from the device to beneath the skin is not readily possible. The reason for this is that in such cases, the device is already adhered to the skin and covers the injection site, making it virtually impossible to form a desired skin fold to receive the needle and cannula. As will be seen subsequently, the present invention addresses these and other issues toward providing a simple, practical, reliable and relatively pain-free deployment of a cannula beneath the skin to support insulin delivery.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
• The invention provides a medical device comprising a base having a base surface and a flexible layer member. The flexible layer member has a first surface adjacent the base surface and a second surface adapted to be adhered to a patient's skin. The first surface has a first portion adhered to a portion of the base surface and a second portion adherable to the base surface.
• The base surface and the flexible layer member may be arranged to permit a cannula to pass there through from the base. The base may be arranged to permit a cannula to pass through the first portion of the first surface. The base may include a septum within the base surface to permit a cannula to pass through the first portion of the first surface.
• The second portion of the first surface may include a layer of adhesive and a removable cover overlying the layer of adhesive. The second portion of the first surface may include first and second areas on opposite sides of the first portion. The base surface and the flexible layer member are preferably arranged to permit a cannula to pass there through from the base. The base may be further arranged to permit a cannula to pass through the first portion of the first surface. The base may include a septum within the base surface to permit a cannula to pass there the first portion of the first surface. The first and second areas of the first surface may each include a layer of adhesive and a removable cover overlying the layer of adhesive.
• The invention may further provide a method of deploying a cannula of a disposable infusion device. The method comprises the steps of adhering, to a skin surface, a base member having a port for receiving a cannula, forming a skin fold having skin surfaces sloping away from opposite sides of the base member and driving a cannula through the port of the base member while maintaining the skin fold and thereafter releasing the skin fold.
• The step of forming the skin fold may include compressing soft tissue beneath and on opposite sides of the base member. The adhering step may include adhering a first portion of the base member to the skin surface before forming the skin fold and adhering an additional portion of the base member to the skin surface after releasing the skin fold. The additional portion of the base member may be a portion of the base member remaining to be adhered to the skin surface.
• The method may further include the step of releasably attaching to the base member a cannula driver having a cannula and a drive mechanism for driving the cannula from the cannula driver into and through the port of the base member. The driving step may then include actuating the drive mechanism to drive the cannula into and through the base member port.
• The method may include the further step of removing the cannula driver from the base member after the cannula has been driven through the base member port to a deployed position extending from the base member to beneath the skin. The step of forming the skin fold may include compressing soft tissue beneath and on opposite sides of the base member. The adhering step may include the steps of adhering a first portion of the base member to the skin surface before forming the skin fold and adhering an additional portion of the base member to the skin surface after releasing the skin fold. The additional portion of the base member may be a portion of the base member remaining to be adhered to the skin surface.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention, together with further features and advantages thereof, may best be understood by making reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in the several figures of which like reference numerals identify identical elements, and wherein:
• FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a disposable infusion device according to an embodiment of the invention together with a cannula driver that provides the infusion device with a cannula for the delivery of a liquid medicant;
• FIG. 2 is perspective view of the cannula driver ofFIG. 1 detachably received by the infusion device ofFIG. 1 before the device is adhered to the skin;
• FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the infusion device and cannula driver ofFIG. 1 after the device is adhered to the skin;
• FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the infusion device and cannula driver ofFIG. 1 after the device is adhered to the skin and as a skin fold is formed to receive a cannula from the cannula driver;
• FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the infusion device and cannula driver ofFIG. 1 as a needle and cannula are driven into the skin fold according to an embodiment of the invention;
• FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the infusion device and cannula driver ofFIG. 1 after the needle has been retracted from the cannula back into the cannula driver and as an adhesive is exposed to the device to more completely secure the device with respect to the skin in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and
• FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the infusion device ofFIG. 1 after the cannula driver has been removed from the infusion device and the cannula has been fully deployed to facilitate the delivery of insulin through the cannula to beneath the skin.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
• Referring now toFIG. 1, it is a perspective view of aninfusion system10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Theinfusion system10 generally includes aninfusion device100 and acannula driver200. Thedevice100 includes aseptum110 for both receiving a cannula to be deployed and receiving boluses of insulin with a needle syringe, for example. Thedevice100 further includes abody120 having abase130 and aflexible member140.
• Thebase130 has abase surface132 and theflexible member140 includes afirst surface142 adjacent thebase surface132 of thedevice base130 and asecond surface144 adapted to be adhered to the skin. Theflexible member140 carries threeprotective strips150,152, and154. Each strip has a respective tab150a,1502, and154ato facilitate its removal. The first strip150, when removed, exposes a layer of adhesive for use in adhering thesecond surface144 of theflexible member140 to the patient's skin. The second andthird strips152 and154, when removed, expose an adhesive on thefirst surface142 of the flexible member to thebase surface132 of the device. Thestrips152 and154 cover outer regions of the flexible memberfirst surface142 leaving acenter region146 already adhered to thebase surface132 of thedevice base130. As will be seen subsequently, after a cannula has been deployed, thestrips152 and154 may be removed to expose the adhesive in the outer regions of thefirst surface142 of theflexible member140 to thebase surface132 of thedevice130. This permits theentire base surface132 to be adhered to theflexible member140 to more fully stabilize thedevice100 on the patient's skin after cannula deployment.
• Thedevice100 further includes a pair of actuator buttons of which onesuch button112 may be seen inFIG. 1. Thedevice100 is preferably arranged so that only concurrent depression of the actuator buttons results in insulin being dispensed to the patient.
• Thecannula driver200 is arranged to be detachably received on theinfusion device100 to facilitate deployment of a cannula from thedevice100. To that end, thedriver200 includes a plurality ofprojections202 that are arranged to align with and be frictionally received by a like plurality ofrecesses114 within thebody120 of theinfusion device100. Theprojections202 and therecesses114 are correspondingly arranged to serve the further function of aligning thecannula driver200 with theinfusion device100 for cannula deployment. Thecannula driver200 still further includes anactuator button220. When theactuator button220 is depressed, a mechanism (not shown) within the cannula driver is released to first drive a cannula carried on a cannula needle through thedevice100 to a deployed position and then retract the needle back into thecannula driver200 leaving the cannula deployed and ready to provide insulin to the patient. For a complete description of an exemplary cannula driver, reference may be had to copending application Ser. No. 11/641,596, filed Dec. 18, 2006 for CANNULA DELIVERY APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR A DISPOSABLE INFUSION DEVICE, which application is assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated in its entirety herein by reference.
• FIGS. 2-7 illustrate a manner in which theinfusion device100 may be deployed on a patient's skin according to an embodiment of the present invention for providing a liquid medicant, such as insulin, to the patient. InFIG. 2, it may be seen that thecannula driver200 has been detachably received by theinfusion device100. The strip150 is partly removed, as by the pulling of the tab150a, to expose the adhesive coatedsecond surface144 of theflexible member140 to be adhered to the patient's skin. Also exposed in this process is aport160 that communicates with theseptum110 of theinfusion device100. Theport160 permits the cannula to be deployed to pass through thebase130 of thedevice100 and theflexible member140 into its deployed position as will be seen subsequently. It is noted that the port is located equidistant and in between thetabs152aand154aso that the cannula passes through the central region146 (FIG. 1) of thefirst surface142 of theflexible member140 already adhered to thedevice100.
• FIG. 3 shows theinfusion system10 after the strip150 is removed and thesecond surface144 of theflexible member140 is adhered to the patient'sskin12. It may be noted that thetabs152aand154aare still in place and that their corresponding strips have not yet been removed.
• FIG. 4 shows a next step in the deployment process. Since thestrips152 and154 have not yet been removed, the outer regions of the first surface of theflexible member140 are not adhered to thebase surface132 of thedevice100. Thus, the outer regions of theflexible member140 remain flexible to facilitate the formation of askin fold14 of soft tissue on opposite sides of thedevice100. More particularly, and as may be seen inFIG. 4, the fold of soft tissue is formed by the compression of soft tissue on opposite sides of the central region of thebase surface132 so that the surface of theskin12 slopes away from opposite sides of the central region of thebase surface132. The patient is now ready to actuate thecannula driver200.
• FIG. 5 shows thecannula driver200 being actuated. Here it may be seen as theskin fold14 is maintained with one hand, theactuator button220 is depressed with the other hand. This causes a cannula/needle assembly170 to be driven from thecannula driver200 and through thedevice100 to cause theassembly170 to project from thedevice100 to beneath the patient'sskin12. By virtue of the formedskin fold14, the pain associated with the assembly driving is reduced and the probability of affecting only soft tissue is greatly enhanced.
• Theassembly170 is seen with thecannula174 being carried by a needle172. Once the assembly is positioned as shown, the needle172 is withdrawn from thecannula174 and preferably transported back to thecannula driver200 for safe sharps disposal.
• With thecannula174 deployed and the needle172 withdrawn back into thecannula driver200 as shown inFIG. 6, thestrips152 and154 may now be removed.FIG. 6 showsstrip154 being removed by the pulling on its corresponding tab154a. Thestrip152 may be removed in the same manner. This exposes the adhesive on the outer regions of the flexible memberfirst surface142 to thebase surface132. The outer regions of thefirst surface142 of theflexible member140 may now be brought into engagement with thebase surface132 of theinfusion device100 to more completely stabilize thedevice100 on the patient'sskin12. Thecannula driver200 may now be separated from theinfusion device100. Theinfusion device100 will now be fully deployed as shown inFIG. 7.
• InFIG. 7, it may be seen that thesecond surface144 of theflexible member140 is solidly adhered to theskin12. Thefirst surface142 of theflexible member140 is solidly adhered to thebase surface132 of theinfusion device100. Thedevice100 is fully stabilized on the patient'sskin12. The cannula extends from thedevice100 beneath theskin12 in a fully deployed position. Depression of theactuator buttons112 will now cause insulin to be provided to the patient through the deployedcannula174.
• While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, modifications may be made, and it is therefore intended in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined by those claims.

Claims (19)

1. A medical device comprising:

a base having a base surface; and

a flexible layer member, the flexible layer member having a first surface adjacent the base surface and a second surface adapted to be adhered to a patient's skin, the first surface having a first portion adhered to a portion of the base surface and a second portion adherable to the base surface.

2. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the base surface and the flexible layer member are arranged to permit a cannula to pass there through from the base.

3. The device ofclaim 2, wherein the base is arranged to permit a cannula to pass through the first portion of the first surface.

4. The device ofclaim 3, wherein the base includes a septum within the base surface to permit a cannula to pass through the first portion of the first surface.

5. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the second portion of the first surface includes a layer of adhesive and a removable cover overlying the layer of adhesive.

6. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the second portion of the first surface includes first and second areas on opposite sides of the first portion.

7. The device ofclaim 6, wherein the base surface and the flexible layer member are arranged to permit a cannula to pass there through from the base.

8. The device ofclaim 7, wherein the base is arranged to permit a cannula to pass through the first portion of the first surface.

9. The device ofclaim 8, wherein the base includes a septum within the base surface to permit a cannula to pass through the first portion of the first surface.

10. The device ofclaim 6, wherein the first and second areas of the first surface each includes a layer of adhesive and a removable cover overlying the layer of adhesive.

11. A method of deploying a cannula of a disposable infusion device, comprising:

adhering, to a skin surface, a base member having a port for receiving a cannula;

forming a skin fold having skin surfaces sloping away from opposite sides of the base member;

driving a cannula through the port of the base member while maintaining the skin fold; and

releasing the skin fold.

12. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the step of forming the skin fold includes compressing soft tissue beneath and on opposite sides of the base member.

13. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the adhering step includes adhering a first portion of the base member to the skin surface before forming the skin fold and adhering an additional portion of the base member to the skin surface after releasing the skin fold.

14. The method ofclaim 13, wherein the additional portion of the base member is a portion of the base member remaining to be adhered to the skin surface.

15. The method ofclaim 11, including the further step of releasably attaching to the base member a cannula driver having a cannula and a drive mechanism for driving the cannula from the cannula driver into and through the port of the base member and wherein the driving step includes actuating the drive mechanism to drive the cannula into and through the base member port.

16. The method ofclaim 15, including the further step of removing the cannula driver from the base member after the cannula has been driven through the base member port to a deployed position extending from the base member to beneath the skin.

17. The method ofclaim 16, wherein the step of forming the skin fold includes compressing soft tissue beneath and on opposite sides of the base member.

18. The method ofclaim 17, wherein the adhering step includes adhering a first portion of the base member to the skin surface before forming the skin fold and adhering an additional portion of the base member to the skin surface after releasing the skin fold.

19. The method ofclaim 18, wherein the additional portion of the base member is a portion of the base member remaining to be adhered to the skin surface.

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