Spray devices and methods
Some embodiments of a spray device can be configured to maintain a viscous fluid in isolation from a propellant fluid until after the viscous fluid exits from a nozzle of the spray device. For example, the viscous fluid may include an adhesive such as surgical adhesive. When the spray device is actuated, the surgical adhesive can exit the nozzle so that the propellant fluid acts upon the surgical adhesive to break it into droplets for application on a targeted site.
1. A spray device for dispensing droplets of a viscous fluid, comprising:
a housing defining an interior space to receive a supply of a propellant fluid and a supply of a viscous fluid;
a first container arranged in a portion of the housing to maintain the supply of the viscous fluid in isolation from propellant fluid, wherein the first container comprises: an exit port through which the viscous fluid is adapted to exit, a movable plunger device in an interior space of the first container that is biased toward the viscous fluid, and a least a second port positioned on the first container so as to face a different direction than the exit port; and
a nozzle device to spray droplets of the viscous fluid toward a targeted site, the nozzle device being fixedly coupled to the portion of the housing that receives the first container and being in fluid communication with the first container in the housing such that the viscous fluid interacts with the propellant fluid only after exiting the nozzle device.
2. The device of claim 1 , wherein the viscous fluid comprises a surgical adhesive.
3. The device of claim 1 , further comprising a second container arranged in the housing to maintain the supply of the propellant fluid in isolation from the viscous fluid, wherein the second container is in fluid communication with at least one propellant dispensation port of the nozzle device, and the first container is in fluid communication with at least one viscous fluid dispensation port of the nozzle device.
4. The device of claim 3 , further comprising an actuator that is movable to an activated position so as to contemporaneously release both the propellant fluid from the second container and the viscous fluid from the first container.
5. A spray device packaging system, comprising:
a surgical storage module defining an interior space; and
a plurality of surgical adhesive spray devices each contained in individual trays or pouches and arranged fully within the interior space of the storage module, each of the spray devices comprising:
a housing, a portion of the housing containing a supply of a propellant fluid and a supply of surgical adhesive;
an actuator movably coupled to the housing and being adjustable from a first position to a second position so as to cause continuous dispensation of both the surgical adhesive and the propellant fluid while the actuator is fixed in the second position; and
a nozzle device to spray droplets of the surgical adhesive in response to movement of the actuator, wherein the nozzle device is mounted in a fixed position relative to the portion of the housing that that contains the supply of the propellant fluid and the supply of surgical adhesive such that the supply of the propellant fluid and the supply of surgical adhesive contained in the housing are carried together with the nozzle device.
6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the surgical storage module has a height of about 14 cm, a width of about 12.5 cm, and a depth of about 14 cm, and the surgical storage module receives five of the surgical spray devices.