NEEDLE IMPROVEMENTS FOR DRUG DELIVERY USING TATTOO MACHINES

Abstract

This invention belongs to the field of medicine and surgical instruments, and is intended to provide a new route of drug administration through needles plated with specific metals, aiming at better drug distribution and absorption upon administration, more precisely in the eyeball and/or on the patient's skin in order to increase its efficacy in relation to other means of drug delivery known in the medical field, especially in skin, mucous and ocular diseases. The invention allows drug delivery to the skin and/or subcutaneous tissue, by means of a duly modified tattoo machine, which instead of ink, uses drugs, as a product to be inserted in the skin. In addition, the invention can be used to administer drugs directly to a person's eyeball, offering great practicality and agility to surgical procedures.

Claims

1. A drug delivery system using a tattoo machine comprising: a removable cartridge including a needle bundle tip and a drug container having an opening configured to be loaded with a drug, said needle bundle tip comprises a plurality of tattoo needles arranged together so that the tips of said plurality of tattoo needles are aligned with either a curvature of an eye or a contour of the skin of a patient, wherein the drug is discharged by shearing onto oscillating said plurality of tattoo needles.

2. The drug delivery system of claim 1, wherein a strength of said drug is selected by a physician.

3. The drug delivery system of claim 1, wherein the drug is delivered to one of: a corneal stroma, an eye structure and a patient skin by a back and forth movement of said plurality of tattoo needles.

4. The drug delivery system of claim 1, wherein the opening of said drug container has with a mouthpiece projected outwardly with variable dosing holes positioned approximately midway of said cartridge.

5. The drug delivery system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of tattoo needles are arranged so that a central needle portion is retracted, an adjacent needle portion is less retracted than said central needle portion and an externally arranged needle portion is more exposed than said adjacent needle portion so that plurality of tattoo needles tips is aligned with the curvature of the eye.

6. The drug delivery system of claim 1, wherein said drug container is a removable, replaceable and disposable unit.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0044] To complement the present description in order to obtain a better understanding of the features of the present invention and in accordance with a preferred practical embodiment thereof, a set of figures, attached, accompany the description, where operation has been represented with examples that are not limited:

[0045] FIG. 1 shows the detail of needles with tips aligned with the curvature of the eye;

[0046] FIG. 2 shows the detail of needle tip oval arrangement;

[0047] FIG. 3 shows the detail of the needles seen from below;

[0048] FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the needles;

[0049] FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of a set of tattoo needles used in the method for drug micro infusion on the skin through a tattoo machine.

[0050] FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of a tattoo tip used in drug micro infusion through a tattoo machine.

[0051] FIG. 7 shows a side view in transparency of the lower portion of a tip used in drug micro infusion through a tattoo machine.

[0052] FIG. 8 shows a detailed view of the application in drug micro infusion on the skin through a tattoo machine.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0053] According to the above-mentioned drawings, the present invention relates to needles (1) for injecting drugs into the eyeball (8) and/or the skin (9) by means of tattoo machines to make eye and/or skin disease treatment more effective, more efficient and safer.

[0054] The principle of the invention is very similar to ancient tattoo techniques. In a drug-loaded cartridge (6), with the drug strength being chosen by a physician, the needles (1), in a back and forth movement, deliver the drug to the corneal stroma (8) and/or eye structures (8) and/or the skin (9). It should be pointed out that, because of the round anatomical structure, the needles (1), as a whole, should be arranged so that the tips (1) are aligned with the curvature of the eye (8) and/or the skin (9), as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 8.

[0055] Drug is delivered by means of an adapted tattoo machine which, instead of ink, uses specific drugs, the tattoo machine has a disposable single-piece cartridge (10) having a needle bundle tip (7) and a drug container (6) with a mouthpiece opening projected outwardly having a depth with variable opening dimensions to allow different drug doses. The mouthpiece opening is positioned approximately midway of the cartridge and the drug is discharged by shearing onto oscillating needle bundle (7).

[0056] FIG. 6 shows a handpiece (5) constituted by a body and the cartridge (10). The cartridge (10) is indicated with an oval and is attached to the lower end of the handpiece (5). The central part of the handpiece (5) is the body of the handpiece and comprises rubberized concentric ovals resembling a beehive. This area is provided so a doctor holds the device at the time of performing the procedure.

[0057] FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of the cartridge where it is loaded with the medicament in an amount selected by the physician in order to contact the patient through the needles in accordance with the present invention. The cartridge is a removable, replaceable and disposable unit.

[0058] According to FIG. 3, the needles (1) are arranged in a group arrangement. According to a preferred embodiment, the central needles (2) are more retracted, the adjacent needles (3) are less retracted in comparison to the central needles and the externally arranged needles (4) are more exposed, so that they align with the curvature of the eye (8).

[0059] The needles arrangement is provided with straight and curved configuration. When used in the skin, a straight needle configuration is suggested but other configurations including a curved configuration can be used depending on the form and contour of the skin being treated. When used in the eyeball, the preferred configuration are needles with a curved configuration, because they respect the morphology of the eyeball, favoring this way a more effective drug delivery.

[0060] According to the invention, the needles (1) should be plated with metals. In a preferred embodiment, the needles are plated with gold since gold is less likely to cause allergic reactions in the area to be treated, gold has bactericidal properties and gold plating makes the surface of the needle smoother. It is envisioned that the needle morphology can be modified by the number and diameter of needles as well as adjustments in tip curvature and metal coating materials and processes.

[0061] Certainly, when the present invention is put into practice, modifications can be made with respect to certain details of construction and shape, without departing from the fundamental principles that are clearly substantiated in the claim, being understood that the terminology employed was not intended to be limiting. For the advantages being offered, and yet, because it has truly innovative features that meet all the requirements of novelty and originality, the present invention meets the conditions necessary to merit the patent of invention.