| abstract |
Sterile solutions containing pharmaceuticals suitable for use in low and micro-gravity environments are prepared with unit dose pharmaceutical dispensers having a pre-measured quantity of medicament. A compressed air reservoir may be activated to rupture the dispenser and positively expel the unit dose into solution. This can be accomplished by inverting a bag containing the pharmaceutical or by operation of a piston which pushes all the pharmaceutical from the dispenser. A robot either places the pharmaceutical dispensers inside a mixing chamber or connects the dispensers to the mixing chamber, which comprises a flexible bag expandable to receive sterile water and pharmaceuticals. The mixing chamber may collapse under cabin pressure to drive prepared solutions from the chamber through a sterilization filter into an intravenous bag or dispensing unit. Sterile water or saline solution is contained in pre-measured dispensing units employing similar principles to the pharmaceutical dispensers, with a positive expulsion bladder similar to that employed in a zero gravity fuel tank. A robotic, manually activated, or squib-activated valve injects a pre-determined quantity of air into the solution container, where the air expands again a membrane or the surface of the fluid, causing it to flow through a check valve into the mixing container. The mixing container is mounted on a vibrating arm driven by a rotary electric motor or a piezoelectric motor which causes agitation until the mixture is uniformly mixed. A sensor may monitor the progress of dissolution of the pharmaceutical suspension through observing optical index of refraction. |