title: Innovation of a syringe needle auto-detaching device for clinicians.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Needle-stick injuries accounts for a great proportion of all medical accidents in developing and undeveloped countries. The main cause of needle-stick accident injuries is the medical personnel's ``recovering'' the needle action after injection.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study applies an electronic technique to the needling instrument for the purpose of automatically detaching the needle. The proposed method can effectively avoid needle-stick accident injury when ``recovering'' the needle.
  
  
  METHODS
  The syringe needle auto-detaching device includes an abutment on which there is a turntable mechanism composed of a pedestal, a turn-table and a driving unit. A photo interrupter on the pedestal detects the rotational angle of the turntable and controls the stepping motor through a control circuit. An optical sensor is located on the upper end of the sensing mechanism. When the syringe is inserted into the syringe plughole the exposed portion of the needle will be detected by the optical sensor. After the syringe is placed into the plughole, its needle will be detected by the sensor. At this time the needle will be detached from the syringe and automatically fall down into the needle collection box.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The syringe needle auto-detaching device was fatigue tested for an extensive period of time (A group: 1000 times/day for 3 ml, B group: 1000 times/day for 5 ml, C group: 1000 times/day for 3 ml and 5 ml staggered, D group: 1000 times/day for 3 ml and 5 ml randomized). The needle and syringe detachment rates were 100% in all test groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The syringe needle auto-detaching device developed in this study, in that the clinician performs only one step to dispose a needle. Six syringe needle sets can be managed sequence second by second. The proposed device without all of the risk factors of the traditional syringe needle detachment device.
authors: Department of Management Information Systems, Hwa Hsia University of Technology, New Taipei City, Taiwan.
authors: C-C
authors: CC
authors: Chen
authors: Department of Physical Medical & Rehabilitation, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors: S-C
authors: SC
authors: Chen
authors: Department of Physical Medical & Rehabilitation, Tao-Yuan Ghang-Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan.
authors: Y-Y
authors: YY
authors: Shih
authors: Department of Digital Technology Design, National Taipei University of Education, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors: Y-L
authors: YL
authors: Chen
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D016602:Needlestick Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013594:Syringes
keywords: Needle-stick; medical treatment; needle recovering; needling instrument