The reusable Glide actuator is the size of a fountain pen, is spring-powered and is a simple device to manufacture.
To use the Glide SDI the disposable drug cassette is removed from its packaging and inserted into the actuator.
To deliver the drug, the end of the drug cassette is placed against the skin and the actuator is pushed gently towards the skin.
The process of pushing the system against the skin primes the internal driving spring and when fully primed the Glide actuator automatically triggers and pushes the drug rapidly through the skin.
The actual delivery of the drug through the skin happens quickly and appears to users to be virtually instantaneous.
Indeed, the speed of the process has been found, in trials, to be one of the reasons why the trial volunteers preferred the Glide technology to an injection with a standard needle and syringe.
As the actuator is removed from the skin, the drug cassette is pushed from the actuator and the actuator is automatically reset ready for reuse.
For some applications, such as for the administration of emergency medicines, the drug cassette may be supplied attached to the actuator, ready for immediate and rapid use.
In this case, the whole system would be disposable.
