Patent Publication Number: US-2010125242-A1

Title: Emergency dose medication administration device

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to an emergency dose medication administration device, which is useful for administration of emergency medications such as liquid effervescent aspirin compositions in the event of heart attack. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART 
     In the field of emergency medicine, various therapeutic agents are used, which require immediate administration after a critical physiological event such as heart attack. 
     Administration of aspirin immediately after onset of cardiovascular symptoms of a heart attack has been credited with saving the lives of numerous heart attack victims. In such circumstance, achieving rapid bioavailability of administered aspirin is of critical importance. For such reason, various powdered aspirin and soluble aspirin products have been developed. 
     Powdered aspirin products are rapidly taken up by the patient when orally administered, e.g., sub-lingually. Powdered aspirin, however, presents issues of handling and administration, e.g., under windy conditions or when the mouth of the patient is dry and salivary action is insufficient to solubilize the powdered aspirin in the oral cavity, for absorption and uptake through oral cavity mucosa. 
     Various soluble aspirin products have been developed, such as the stabilized, essentially sodium-free aspirin composition of my U.S. Pat. No. 5,723,453 issued Mar. 3, 1998. Such patent describes an effervescent aspirin composition comprising (i) aspirin granules of a predetermined particle size at a concentration of about 325.0 milligrams to about 1000.0 milligrams per unit dose, and (ii) granular potassium bicarbonate with an outer surface layer of potassium carbonate on the granules thereof, having a concentration of from 250.0 milligrams to about 3000.0 milligrams per unit dose, pH in a range of about 8.0 to about 10.0, and a molar amount in the composition that is greater than a molar amount required to neutralize the aspirin granules. 
     Although the soluble aspirin product of such prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,723,453 has proven efficacious for use when the powdered composition is added to water or other aqueous medium, it requires opening of a powder package, and addition of water, followed by 30 seconds of dissolution action to yield the drinkable dose of the aspirin solution. This involves a delay in administration time, particularly if a ready source of drinkable water is not available. 
     It would therefore be a substantial advance in the art to provide an administration device that is simple and effective to administer a bolus of a soluble aspirin composition, without the necessity of locating and using an external source of water. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to an emergency dose medication administration device, which is useful for administration of emergency medications such as liquid effervescent aspirin compositions in the event of heart attack. 
     In one aspect, the invention relates to an emergency dose medication administration device, comprising separate compartments separated from one another by a barrier member, in which at least one of the compartments includes a bellowed portion which is expansible upon intermixing of compositions from the respective compartments of the device to form a therapeutic product, when the barrier member is pierced by a manually actuatable piercing element including a passage for administration of the therapeutic product to a patient. 
     In another aspect, the invention relates to an emergency dose medication administration device, comprising first and second compartments separated by a barrier member and coupled by an expansible member, with a lower one of the first and second compartments including a distal expansible portion, and with a drinking tube arranged with a piercing member at a distal end thereof for manually-actuated piercing of the barrier member to effect communication between the first and second compartments and intermixing of their contents, to produce a therapeutically effective composition for administration. 
     In a further aspect, the invention relates to an emergency dose medication administration device, comprising first and second compartments separated by a barrier member and coupled to one another, and a dispensing tube arranged to be manually actuated to disable the barrier member when translated into a dispensing position from a non-actuating position in which the barrier member is enabled to prevent contents of the first and second compartments from intermixing. 
     Other aspects, features and embodiments of the invention will be more fully apparent from the ensuing disclosure and appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic elevation view of an emergency dose medication administration device, according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION, AND PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS THEREOF 
     The present invention relates to an emergency dose medication administration device that is usefully employed with therapeutic agents furnished in a two-part formulation, which when mixed with one another generate gas as an effervescent therapeutic composition. 
     The administration device of the invention in one embodiment includes separate compartments separated from one another by a barrier member, in which at least one of the compartments includes a bellowed portion which is expansible upon intermixing of compositions from the respective compartments of the device, when the barrier member is pierced by a manually actuatable piercing element that includes a passage for administration of the effervescent reaction product to a patient. 
     The device in one preferred configuration includes first and second compartments separated by a barrier element and coupled by an expansible member, with a lower compartment including a distal expansible portion, and with a drinking tube arranged with a piercing member at a distal end thereof for manually-actuated piercing of the barrier member to effect communication between the first and second compartments and intermixing of their contents, to produce a therapeutically effective composition for administration. 
     The inventive device may have a variety of alternative forms, in which respective compartments are brought into material mixing relationship with one another by a dispensing (drinking) tube that includes disables the barrier member when translated into a dispensing position. 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic elevational view of an emergency dose medication administration device according to one specific embodiment of the invention. 
     The device  10  includes a first compartment  12  and a second compartment  14 , which are secured to one another by an expansible joint including bellowed member  30  surrounding an upper circumscribing wall  78  of the compartment  14 . The bellowed member  30  is joined at one end to an upper neck portion  74  of the cylindrical wall  72  of the housing  70  defining the lower compartment  14 . The upper cylindrical wall  78  of compartment  14  is bonded to or integrally formed with the neck  74  of compartment  14 . 
     Attached to cylindrical wall  72  at a lower extremity thereof is a bellowed portion  80 , which at its lower end is closed by end wall  82 . The walls  72 ,  78  and  82  together with neck  74  together define the housing  70  of compartment  14 . 
     Overlying and coaxial (along axis L-L) with compartment  14  is compartment  12 , including housing  20  comprising cylindrical wall  22  and annular wall  28 . Annular wall  28  is joined at its radially inner extremity to bellowed portion  30  interconnecting compartments  12  and  14 . Housing  20  also includes an annular neck  24  joined to an upper extremity of cylindrical side wall  22 . The annular neck  24  is in turn joined to an exteriorly threaded wall  26  that is threadably engagable with a cap  16  of the device. 
     The cap  16  includes a main cap body  40  having a cavity  42  therein overfitting drinking tube  44  of the device. In such manner, the cap  16  is readily threadably disengagable from the upper compartment  12  to expose the drinking tube  44  for use. 
     The drinking tube  44  is provided with a central bore passage  50  communicating with inlet opening  52  in the sidewall of the drinking tube. The drinking tube has a lower portion  56  including a distal spike element  58  reposed in cavity  60 . 
     When the cap  16  is removed from the threaded exterior surface  26  of compartment  12 , the upper end of drinking tube  44  is exposed for actuation. Actuation is manually effected by pressing on the upper, proximal end of the drinking tube so that the spike element  58  at the distal end thereof in cavity  60  is driven downwardly, to pierce the barrier element  34  and expose the contents in interior volume  76  of compartment  14  to the contents in the interior volume  23  of compartment  12 , so that the materials in the respective compartments intermix with one another. 
     The intermixing of such materials involves generation of gas that in turn expands the bellows member  80  of compartment  14  and the bellows member  30  between compartments  12  and  14 . In this manner, the gas generation is accommodated, and the inlet opening  52  of the drinking tube  44  is disposed in the effervescing liquid, so that liquid passes from the inter-communicated compartments  12  and  14  through inlet  52  into bore passage  50  of drinking tube  44 , so that it is available for administration to a patient in need thereof. 
     In administration, the effervescing liquid generates gas that expands bellows members  30  and  80  so that the device becomes elongated in axial extent (along central line L-L). 
     The gas-generating action of the effervescing liquid therefore effects gas-driven expulsion of liquid through the bore-passage  50  of drinking tube  44 . Such action may be augmented by manual squeezing of the device to longitudinally contract it so that liquid is forced through inlet opening  52  and bore passage  50  in drinking tube  44  into the mouth of a patient. By such action, administration of a bolus of liquid from the device is simply and effectively carried out. 
     The compartments  12  and  14  may include walls and neck portions that are fabricated from plastic, cellulosic material, metallized plastic, or other suitable material of construction. The bellowed portions  30  and  80  may be formed of a same or different material in relation to the walls and necks of the housing of such compartments. The bellowed portions  30  and  80  may be accordion-folded or in other manner compacted so as to be expansible under mixing and gas generation conditions. 
     The barrier member  34  may be of any suitable material that is pierceable by the distal piercing element  58  reposed in cavity  60  of the upper compartment  12 . For example, the barrier member may be formed of a paper, foil, laminate or polymeric material, as a membrane or closure element that is pierced by the piercing element  58  when downward pressure is applied to the upper end of the drinking tube  44 , for movement thereof downwardly along central axis L-L. 
     The drinking tube  44  is shown as a cylindrical tube having a cylindrical central bore passage  50  therein. It will be recognized, however that the drinking tube may be of various suitable shapes and conformations, including square or other cross-sectional shape and that the proximal end of such tube may be equipped with a flared end, or other conformation rendering it suitable for introduction to the lips or mouth cavity of a subject to whom the effervescent liquid is being administered. 
     The drinking tube  44  can for example be formed of an injection molded plastic, or alternatively of metal, ceramic or any other suitable material that is compatible with the contents of the respective compartments  12  and  14 , and the mixed product of such contents. 
     The materials in the respective compartments  12  and  14  may be of any suitable type that when intermixed with one another form a therapeutically effective flowable composition. 
     In application to therapeutic compositions comprising effervescent liquid mixtures, the administration device of the invention is readily manually manipulated to introduce a bolus of the therapeutic composition into the oral cavity of a patient. 
     While intended primarily for administration to human patients, administration devices of the invention may be usefully adapted for administration of medication to other mammalian and non-mammalian animals, thereby encompassing veterinary, as well as human use, applications. 
     Any suitable therapeutic agent may be employed. In one embodiment, a first one of the respective compartments contains a powered and/or granular soluble aspirin composition, and the other compartment contains water or other aqueous medium with which the powered and/or granular soluble aspirin composition is reactive to yield an effervescent analgesic liquid product for administration. 
     It will be recognized that the specific form and configuration of the administration device of the invention may be widely varied, as regards the conformation and arrangement of components, constituents and structural aspects thereof. 
     While the invention has been has been described herein in reference to specific aspects, features and illustrative embodiments of the invention, it will be appreciated that the utility of the invention is not thus limited, but rather extends to and encompasses numerous other variations, modifications and alternative embodiments, as will suggest themselves to those of ordinary skill in the field of the present invention, based on the disclosure herein. Correspondingly, the invention as hereinafter claimed is intended to be broadly construed and interpreted, as including all such variations, modifications and alternative embodiments, within its spirit and scope.