Impact Of PFS Needle Dimensions On High-Volume, High-Viscosity Fluid Delivery

By Christopher J Rini, MS; Rick Klug, AAS; Aishwarya Vaidyanathan, MS; Bruce Roberts, BS; Didier R Morel, Ph.D.; Ronald J Pettis, Ph.D.

High-volume parenteral delivery systems require consideration of both functional design and human factors to enable successful and consistent, reliable delivery to the target tissue. Subcutaneous (SC) drug delivery provides a viable alternative to IV administration for many therapeutic agents and enables alternative care settings. The pre-fillable syringe (PFS) primary drug container regulates drug delivery rate based on fluid path dimensions (e.g. needle inner diameter, length) and may influence human factors such as ease of injection, delivery duration, and perception.

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of needle inner diameter and length on delivery time across a range of fluid viscosities using a prototype auto-injector device.