There are an estimated 800,000 needlestick and other sharps related injuries each year in the US alone. Accidental needle stick injuries endanger the lives of medical professionals who may contract blood borne diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B and C, from contaminated needles. Sharp injuries cost the medical industry billions of dollars each year in testing and treatment of injured healthcare workers.

The Vacuum Operated Auto Retractable Safety Syringe (FreeVac) is a new safety syringe that provides improved functionality and design compared to conventional syringes. Designed with the healthcare providers in mind, the FreeVac, like other safety syringes, can be used in clinics, health institutions, medical facilities, schools, O.R. Settings, ICUs, ERs, and anywhere hypodermic injections may be required. The FreeVac differs from conventional syringes by utilizing a vacuum force to retract the used needle into the barrel of the syringe after an injection is administered; therefore, recapping is not necessary. It also features one-handed operation.

The FreeVac Safety Syringe uses FREE AIR as the catalyst for needle retraction and is different from its competitors that use a steel spring as the force to pull the used needle into the barrel. This design has a lower defective rate and a price advantage over the competitors in the safety medical products market.

The use of air as the vacuum force helps reduce manufacturing costs. After conducting a lengthy material selection process, tolerance and friction force tests were done. The friction force testing was especially important because it is what creates the vacuum force within the barrel.

This syringe is intended to replace non-retractable syringes currently on the market and to reduce the possibility of needlestick injuries. Its new design gives the user added advantages over conventional safety syringes. The features of the FreeVac simplify and enhance the safety of the current medicinal injection process used by all the healthcare providers. Patients and those in need of both vaccinations and drug injections also benefit tremendously from the novel design. As a result, the FreeVac is intended to replace other retractable syringes currently in the market as well.

The FreeVac’s design and engineering aspects pave a new era for safer drug delivery. The permanent retraction of the needle into the barrel prevents the syringe from being re-used. Vacuum retraction technology is the most reliable mechanism in the safety syringe world and can be applied towards other applications within the medical device industry.

Overall, the FreeVac is a safe and user-friendly safety syringe offered at a lower cost compared to syringes currently on the market.

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