The Purdue Syringe is a syringe specially designed to administer correct dosages of large amounts of insulin to patients. The creator of the syringe, Kyle Hultgren, is the founding director of Purdue’s Center for Medication Safety Advancement. He was keen enough to detect that the current syringes in the marketplace are inadequate for distributing insulin medication. Hultgren believes that patients with diabetes are already suffering from the severity of the disease. They should not have to suffer even more for incorrect dosages.
A patient with advanced diabetes has to take daily injections of concentrated insulin to regulate their blood sugar levels. Some of these patients have severely impaired vision and minimal use of limbs and flanges. Many diabetes patients even suffer strokes. Without the assistance of a medical professional, making sure that they are using the correct dosage of medication is a task in itself. Furthermore, the syringes in the marketplace are not manufactured for injecting large doses of insulin. So, even a medical professional can give faulty dosages.
The difference between the purdue syringe and current syringes is that the numbering is substantially larger to ensure correct dosage, the surface area is larger to make larger markings and the diameter is more functional. Insulin syringes are currently manufactured to measure up to 100 units of insulin. The purdue syringe measures 200 units of insulin.
There are a variety of syringes on the market for insulin patients. The two most common are the standard insulin syringe and the tubereculin syringe. These syringes only measure up to 100 units of insulin. A standard insulin syringe is measured in units and the patient can draw back the syringe to measure the amount of insulin that needs to be injected. With a tuberculin syringe, the patient has to convert insulin dosages into millileters. Each 0.01 of a millileter is one unit of insulin. 1.0 cc is 100 units of insulin. The patient has to fill up the syringe and admisister the medicine. If the dosage is more than 100 units, the patient has to take two shots.
The reason why the Purdue Syringe is so innovative is because using current syringes almost creates a guessing game. It is suggested that the patient use the smallest syringe that is large enough to hold the largest dose that they have to take in a day. The smaller syringes have larger readings and are thus, easier to use. If the required dose is larger than the syringe. The patient has to use the next size up. If the patient cannot read the markings, using the wrong syringe could result in fatality. The purdue syringe takes all of the guessing out of taking insulin. Patients can enjoy the benefits of the medicine without the anxiety of taking the wrong dosages.
The device is licensed Imagine Medical Device, through Purdue University’s research foundation office of technology commercialization. Imagine was created with the sole intent of making products that help administer high-risk medications with ease and precision. Their products help prevent incorrect dosage and catastrophic harm from misdosages. The purdue insulin syringe is their cornerstone product. The company is filing for regulations with several regulation authorities around the world including the FDA. They are currently using prototypes to get through the regulatory phase to be able to market it in the future. They are also pursuing strategic partnerships for funding and partnerships with global medical device suppliers.
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