Syringe and related methods
An illuminated syringe comprising a hollow tubular plunger housing containing a printed circuit board assembly with an LED at its forward tip, a centrally located battery, and an activation switch accessible through a rear access hole in the plunger butt. A translucent cap is ultrasonically welded over the open front end of the plunger housing to seal the PCB and distribute light orthogonally through both the cap and the syringe body. A transparent rubber plunger provides a fluid-tight seal between the housing and a transparent syringe body defining a medicament reservoir, graduated markings, and an expressible tip. When the switch is actuated, the LED projects light through the contained fluid and out the syringe tip, enabling targeted illumination of anatomical sites with limited visibility—particularly oral extraction sockets—while permitting one-handed operation and maintaining disposability of the syringe components.
1 . An illuminated syringe comprising:
(1) a hollow tubular plunger housing having an open end with a circular opening and a butt end;
(2) a printed circuit board disposed within said hollow tubular plunger housing, said printed circuit board comprising an LED positioned at the open end of the plunger housing;
(3) a battery that is disposed at a central location within the tubular plunger housing, said battery being cylindrical and disposed coaxially relative to the circular opening;
(4) an on/off mechanism disposed on the printed circuit board and accessible outside of the tubular plunger housing;
(5) circuitry electrically connecting said LED, said battery, and said on/off mechanism;
(6) a translucent cap that has at least one light conductive digit or fin sealed over said open end of said hollow tubular plunger housing and positioned adjacent to said LED such that light emitting from the LED is transmitted through at least one surface of the digit or fin;
(7) a translucent rubber plunger within which said digit or fin is disposed, the translucent rubber plunger providing a fluid-tight seal with said hollow tubular plunger housing; and
(8) a transparent syringe body defining a reservoir for receiving medication or irrigant, a butt end for receiving said hollow tubular plunger housing, and a syringe tip for expressing said medication or irrigant.
2 . The illuminated syringe of claim 1 , wherein said LED is on a circular disk that is coaxially disposed in and relative to the circular opening and said translucent cap that is partially disposed within the circular opening, made of a light-conductive material, and secured to said open end of said hollow tubular plunger housing.
3 . The illuminated syringe of claim 2 , wherein said transparent syringe body includes graduated markings for measuring medication or irrigant volume within said reservoir.
4 . The illuminated syringe of claim 2 , wherein;
said at least one surface of the digit or fin is orthogonal relative to a coaxis of the tubular plunger housing and the translucent cap; and,
said LED is positioned to project light through said translucent cap via transmission of light through the at least one surface of said digit or fin and through said medication or irrigant in said reservoir.
5 . The illuminated syringe of claim 4 , wherein said battery is centrally disposed within a slot formed in said printed circuit board.
6 . The illuminated syringe of claim 5 , wherein said tubular housing features an access hole and said on/off mechanism is actuatable through said access hole to selectively illuminate said LED.
7 . The illuminated syringe of claim 6 , wherein said syringe tip is adapted for delivering medication or irrigant to oral extraction sockets.