MEDICAL NEEDLE APPARATUS This invention relates to medical needle apparatus, and in particular (but not exclusively) to such apparatus configured to facilitate self-injection of drugs, from within pre-filled syringes. The invention further relates to a procedure for preparing for use such a medical needle apparatus. A well known form of self-injection apparatus is a so-called pen injector where a cartridge of a medicament is held within a pen-like body. A needle is fitted to the forward end of the injector and an appropriate dose is dialled-up on a plunger arrangement at the rear end of the injector. Then, the injection is performed by grasping the body of the injector in the fist and performing a stabbing motion to drive the needle into the injection site, whereafter the plunger arrangement is released or is depressed (as appropriate) by the user's thumb to dispense the drug into the body. Such pen injectors are well accepted and have been shown to be relatively easy to use by unskilled non-medical personnel. As such, they are widely used for self-injection for example by diabetics but there are of course many other users of such apparatus. It is an aim of the present invention to provide medical needle apparatus which incorporates a safety needle assembly to minimise the likelihood of needle-stick injuries and also to facilitate self-injection, but using a pre-filled syringe of a conventional design. To achieve this, the invention has conceived the assembly of a pen-like injector from certain components which may be used for packaging the safety needle assembly. According to this invention, there is provided a medical needle apparatus comprising: - a safety needle assembly having an outer sleeve within which is supported a needle slidable out of the sleeve for making an injection; - a tubular container for the safety needle assembly which container is closed at one end and is provided with a seal at the other end removable to release the safety needle assembly therefrom; and - an outer tube within which is located said tubular container, the diameter of the outer tube being reduced at one end and the container fitting in the tube;
the outer sleeve of the safety needle assembly, tubular container and the outer tube being configured so that the apparatus is used by: separating the outer tube from the tubular container, removing the seal from the tubular container to gain access to the safety needle assembly, connecting a syringe to the safety needle assembly, withdrawing the safety needle assembly from the tubular container, inserting the safety needle assembly into the outer tube, and inserting the opened other end of the tubular container into the outer tube so that the closed end contacts the plunger of the syringe, whereby an injection may be made by a user simultaneously grasping in his fist the outer sleeve of the safety needle assembly and the outer tube, offering the exposed end of the safety needle assembly to the body to be injected, and then pressing on the exposed end of the tubular container to project the needle into the body and to dispense medicament from the syringe through the needle into the body. This invention extends to a procedure for preparing for use a medical needle apparatus of this invention as described above, said procedure comprising the steps of preparing a medical needle apparatus ready for use to perform an injection, in which the medical needle apparatus comprises a safety needle assembly having an outer sleeve within which is supported a needle slidable out of the sleeve for making an injection, a tubular container for the safety needle assembly which container is closed at one end and is provided with a seal at the other end removable to release the safety needle assembly therefrom, and an outer tube within which is located said tubular container, the diameter of the outer tube being reduced at one end and the container fitting in the tube, said procedure comprises the steps of separating the outer tube from the tubular container, removing the seal from the tubular container to gain access to the safety needle assembly, connecting a syringe to the safety needle assembly, withdrawing the safety needle assembly from the tubular container, inserting the safety needle assembly into the outer tube, and inserting the opened other end of the tubular container into the outer tube so that the closed end contacts the plunger of the syringe.
Other preferred features of the apparatus are defined in the appended claims. By way of example only, one specific embodiment of medical needle apparatus of this invention will now be described in detail, reference being made to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 is an isometric view of the medical needle apparatus 10 of this invention fully assembled for storage and prior to use, together with a pre-filled syringe 11 having a cylindrical body 12 with a plunger 13 fitted with a piston to expel liquid drug within the body 12. At the forward end of the syringe 11 there is a conventional luer-lock spigot, having a protective cover 14. Figure 2 shows the outer tube 15 of the medical needle apparatus 10 slid away from a tubular container 16 for the safety needle assembly. The outer tube 15 has a reduced diameter portion 17 at one end. The container 16 for the safety needle assembly is closed at one end 18 and is provided with a removable seal 19 at the other end, which maintains the needle assembly within the container in a sterile state. Figure 3 shows the removable seal 19 peeled away from the open end of the container 16, so giving access to the safety needle assembly (not shown) within the container. The cover 14 has been removed from the syringe and the luer-lock spigot thereof has been driven into engagement with the luer-lock socket (not shown) of the safety needle assembly, within its container 16. Figure 4 shows the safety needle assembly 20 having an outer sleeve 21 withdrawn from its container 16 by pulling gently on the syringe 11 connected to that assembly, and then the assembly together with the syringe inserted into the outer tube 15. Figure 5 shows the safety needle assembly 20 lying within the reduced diameter portion 17 of the outer tube so as to project therefrom, the syringe then being located wholly within the outer tube. The safety needle assembly is pulled to this position by grasping the projecting part of the sleeve 21 and the limiting position is defined by a rib 22 (Figure 4) at the rear end of the sleeve 21 engaging an internal shoulder of the outer tube 15, defined by the reduced diameter portion 17. As shown in Figure 5, the internal shoulder may define a
groove into which the rib 22 is snap-fitted, by the application of a light force to the sleeve 21 with respect to the outer tube 15. Figure 6 shows the tubular container 16 inserted into the outer tube 15 with the closed end 18 leading, to engage the plunger 13 of the syringe. The outer tube 15 is shown partially cut away for clarity. The medical needle apparatus is now ready for use, by grasping the projecting part of the outer sleeve 21 of the safety needle assembly 20 and the outer tube 15 within a user's fist, in the same manner as is conventionally employed with a pen injector and with the user's thumb over the open end of the tubular container 16. Figure 7 shows the medical needle apparatus partway through an injection cycle. The tubular container 16 has been depressed fully into the outer tube 15, so driving the syringe forward within the safety needle assembly 20 and causing the needle 23 to project from that assembly by a pre-set distance. The continued pressure on the tubular container 16 pushes the plunger 13 deeper into the syringe so causing the medicament therewithin to be expelled through the needle 23. This injection cycle is performed by offering the forward end 24 of the sleeve 21 to the injection site while grasping the apparatus in the fist of a user, in the manner of a pen injector, and then depressing the tubular container 16 in one movement, which sequentially drives the needle 23 into the body and performs the injection. Figure 8 shows the medical needle apparatus at the completion of an injection cycle. Here, a spring (not shown) within the safety needle assembly has pulled the needle 23 back into the outer sleeve 21 of that assembly, the syringe also moving rearwardly within the outer tube 15 and so also moving the tubular container 16 rearwardly. In this condition, the safety needle assembly is locked in its safe condition and it no longer is possible to cause the needle 23 to project from the outer sleeve 21 of that assembly. The entire medical needle apparatus may now be disposed of in an appropriate manner, though it would be possible to retain the outer tube 15 for re-use, should that be required.