Field Developmental Test of the Dual Barrel Automatic Injector, MARK II.
Abstract
This autoinjector is a two barrel, nose-activated automatic injector system that delivers the contents of both barrels intramuscularly with a single action by user. Field tests were conducted on 1920 prototype injectors randomly drawn from production. 1800 injectors were distributed to 600 soldiers of an Infantry brigade. Each soldier was instructed to carry three injectors in a small arms ammunition pouch on their load bearing suspenders for 18-21 days of field training in dry hot conditions at Yakima Firing Center, WA. The injectors were then reinspected, repackaged and sent to USAMB RDL, Fort Detrick, MD where each injector was tested for firing rate, force, injection volumes and needle lengths. Out of 1525 injectors actually field tested, 46 (3.0%) were found to have a malfunction characterized by the atropine barrel sliding forward in the casing. One or more such malfunctions occured in 5.9% of the injector sets carried by soldiers in the field. The malfunction released the atropine barrel from the safety mechanism and this barrel could and did fire with random contact. The malfunction was specifically associated with soldiers whose principal activity involved motorized travel or operation of heavy engineering equipment in rough field terrain. Keywords: Intramuscular injection; Chemical defense.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1986
- Accession Number
- ADA169728
Entities
People
- K. E. Friedl
Organizations
- Madigan Army Medical Center