Importance

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Abstract

A multiple-dose syringe including a barrel with a closed end and an open end, the closed end having an injection port that may be adapted to receive a needle, or that may be adapted to engage a commercially available needle-less system for fluidly connecting a syringe to an IV or a medicine vial. A plunger is slidably disposed through the open end of the barrel. A container is connected to an end of the plunger to move with the plunger. The container has a deformable shell with an opening at a forward end thereof and a predetermined quantity of fluid sealed therein by a closure member disposed over the opening to selectively seal the opening. The closure member includes a valve that opens in response to a fluid pressure differential across the valve. The container is slidably disposed in the barrel and includes a seal proximal to the forward end to form a first cavity in the barrel with a volume that is adjustable by moving the container in the barrel with the plunger so that fluid can be selectively drawn into and expelled from the first cavity, which is contiguous to the injection port. After at least a substantial portion of the fluid is expelled from the first cavity, the shell is configured to be collapsed by further pressure applied by the plunger, and after a predetermined fluid pressure differential across the closure member is reached, the valve of the closure member opens to allow expulsion of the quantity of fluid contained in the container.

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First Claim