Patent ID: 11951291
Assignee: ELI LILLY AND COMPANY
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 19:
20. A method of determining a current status condition of an injection device, the injection device including a device housing defining an interior volume extending about a longitudinal axis, a syringe assembly at least partially disposed within the interior volume, the syringe assembly including a barrel, and a piston disposed within the barrel, wherein the syringe assembly is moveable relative to the device housing between a storage position where an injection needle of the syringe assembly is disposed within the device housing and an injection position where the injection needle projects proximally beyond a proximal opening of the device housing, wherein the piston is movable between an initial piston distal position within the barrel and a final piston proximal position, and a status sensing system including a light emitter configured to emit electromagnetic radiation in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis and into the interior volume, a light detector configured to detect electromagnetic radiation emitted from the light emitter and configured to generate a signal responsive to the detected electromagnetic radiation, the method comprising:
determining, based on the generated signal, an injection ready state wherein the syringe assembly is in the storage position and the piston is in the initial piston distal position;
determining, based on the generated signal, a needle insertion state wherein the syringe assembly is in the injection position and the piston is in the initial piston distal position; and
determining, based on the generated signal, a drug delivered state wherein the syringe assembly is in the injection position and the piston is in the final piston proximal position.