Importance

Loading Importance Indicators...

Abstract

A prime mover module used in a fluid delivery micropump, especially for pharmaceutical purposes, transports an electrochemically active material, such as oxygen, at a steady rate across an ion exchange cell to apply external pressure to a collapsible reservoir and expel fluid therefrom. An air-actuated battery, such as a zinc-air battery, which is located in the module in a fixed closed circuit with the cell and which shares one of its electrodes with the cell, is activated by peeling off an adhesive tape covering air inlet ports to thereby establish a voltage gradient acrosss the cell and control the rate at which fluid is expelled from the reservoir in accordance with the value of a resistor in the cell/battery circuit. The reservoir is filled or refilled by inserting a vented needle into an air bleed port while discharging a fluid-filled syringe inserted into a fluid injection port. Cylindrical and flat configurations, suitable for external use, operate on atmospheric oxygen, while an implantable configuration operates on oxygen from a self-contained reservoir.

Loading the Abstract Image...

First Claim