Patent ID: 7198612

Claim:
An assembly comprising a pharmaceutical product; and a device for delivering said pharmaceutical product to a bodily cavity, said device including a barrel member having a distal end, which includes an opening, a plurality of petals, which extend outwardly from said distal end in a generally axial direction, and a passageway, which extends through said barrel member in a direction substantially parallel to said axial direction and which is in communication with said opening, said petals cooperating with said opening so as to form a receptacle in said distal end of said barrel member for releasably receiving said pharmaceutical product, each of said petals including a base connected to said distal end of said barrel member and terminating at a truncated flexible tip, each of said petals including an intermediate section extending between a corresponding one of said bases and a corresponding one of said tips, each of said petals being sized and shaped such that the entire portion of each of said intermediate sections is spaced from said pharmaceutical product in a radially outward direction and such that only said tips engage said pharmaceutical product at a substantially central portion thereof when said pharmaceutical product is fully received in said receptacle, whereby a large section of the pharmaceutical product extends outwardly beyond said petals so as to facilitate the release of said pharmaceutical product from said receptacle, said device including a plunger member movably extending through said passageway of said barrel member for releasing said pharmaceutical product from said receptacle, said barrel member including an engaging member positioned in said passageway for engaging said plunger member; and wherein the tips of the petals form a second opening that maintains a larger diameter than a smallest inner diameter along the length of the barrel member both before and after release of the pharmaceutical product.