Safety syringe

Available for license, this patented self-disabling and self-encapsulating safety syringe is designed to protect healthcare workers and patients from accidental needle sticks. Unlike other safety needle devices, OmniJect works just like standard syringes, requiring no secondary operations, and uses a stationary cannula that can be produced on existing, standard gauge, drawn hollow-wire manufacturing equipment.

After injection, the caregiver simply continues pressing on the plunger to push a sheath out of the syringe, with nothing to push, twist, squeeze, or rotate with the other hand. Reverse locking barbs snap the sheath into place, encapsulating the needle and assisting withdrawal from the patient. Simultaneously, the cannula hub disables the plunger by piercing the piston to make the syringe unusable.

In addition to the sheath, the fully-scalable design adds only one small plastic part inside the syringe, a floating bulkhead. This sliding component provides a false floor for the plunger and a passage to the needle for filling the syringe. Because it can be manufactured on existing lines, it's not appreciably more expensive than ordinary syringes.

Robert Schumacher, OmniJect Corp., Box 6911, Beverly Hills, CA 90212; Tel: (310) 201-0800; E-mail: [email protected].

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