The RAAI would be made from injection-moulded PET (polyethylene terephthalate) for the casing and any plastic internals. PET is widely used in the medical industry (Czuba, 2014). It is used due to its high strength, rigidity, low wear and chemical resistance (Plastics, 2020). The window will be made from a polycarbonate which is transparent and also regularly used in the medical industry (Cheryl Weckle, 2013). The gas canister and springs will be stainless steel as it is resilient and will not magnetise. This is important as there are magnets on the casing to hold the cap in place; they cannot interfere with the function of the internals. The auto-injector is designed to be mass manufactured and constructed in an assembly line. The case is in two parts to allow for the internals that are not easily removable to be placed inside before the casing is glued together and sealed. The case will be glued together with a cyanoacrylate adhesive.
The auto-adrenaline injector (EpiPen) is overdue due for an update. The EpiPen and other alternatives are expensive, costing up to USD$669, inconvenient to carry, have a short shelf life and there is an international shortage of EpiPens due to manufacturing issues. It is predictable that people with anaphylaxis are going without, risking poor health outcomes. The EpiPen also is coupled with poor affordances leading to it easily being used incorrectly.
The focal point of this project was to create a device that is reusable, better value and more portable. The process included comparing the failures and successes of the current designs in the market. With these points in mind, an adrenaline auto-injector that can be used multiple times whilst improving practicality and not compromising safety was the goal.
The improved design, the RAAI (Reusable Auto Adrenaline Injector) achieved this with a modular, reusable design. Refills for the adrenaline and a recycling process for the gas canisters enabling refilling, can potentially reduce the long-term cost for users and reduce medical waste. The design considered the past failings of the EpiPen, including accidental injection. The RAAI addressed this by having the cap and activator at the same end, lessening the likelihood of the user mistaking which end is the sharps end of the device. The colouring is similar to that of the Epipen “blue to the sky and orange to the thigh” to reduce confusion. The labelling is also more concise, clearer with a larger font size. Finally, the replaceable parts are difficult to accidentally to interact with in an emergency, but are easy to replace by simply unscrewing the caps. The RAAI is a device that has successfully addressed the pain-points of the existing adrenaline auto-injectors with the potential to improve usability, access, affordability and reduce medical waste and environmental impact.
