Extavia Syringe to Betaseron Injector Adapter
Description
This model is for adapting the Novartis made Extavia (interferon beta-1b) syringes to fit the Bayer Betaseron (interferon beta-1b) auto injectors. The adapted syringe will fit both the Bayer Betaject lite, as well as what prompted this design, the Betaconnect electronic auto injector. While this model will adapt the Extavia syringe to fit the Bayer injectors, keep in mind that Extavia uses a 27-gauge on their syringe and Bayer uses a 30-gauge needle on theirs. Adapted Extavia syringes will be every bit as abusive in the Bayer spring loaded injector as they are in the Extavia spring loaded injector. Both needles are identical in length, so there's no reason to adjust the depth setting from where it was used previously on the Bayer medication, however, the larger diameter needle of the Extavia syringe will deliver the medication more rapidly, so you may opt to choose a slower speed setting on the Betaconnect injector. There are 3 settings, fast medium and slow. I used the Betaconnect injector on the medium speed setting, and I find that comfortable enough with the larger diameter needle, but you may feel otherwise. I feel like adapting one manufacturers product to work with another manufacturers medication is a huge cheat, however... Novartis currently supplies only a mechanical spring loaded auto-injector for Extavia. I did not switch from Betaseron to Extavia by choice. My health care provider, the VA, has been pretty fantastic in recent years at getting me the medications I need. Shortly after I moved from Michigan to Oklahoma, the VA did as it's done with many of my other medications, switched to a different vendor to cut costs. While the Extavia certainly seems to do just as well as the Betaseron at minimizing the frequency of my flare-ups, the spring loaded mechanical injector is quite obnoxious and abusive to the flesh. A few months ago, the VA was having trouble getting Extavia due to supply chain issues. My neurologist called me and told me the Extavia was unavailable and was sending me Betaseron instead. I located my old Betaconnect electronic injector, charged it back up, and enjoyed using it for the past two months. Last week I got a call from the pharmacist informing me that they were back on track with the Extavia, and that my next shipment would be the Extavia, which it was. I don't use the auto-injector for my legs, but when I use it on the back of my arms, the combination of pressure required to detent the release mechanism and spring loaded slapping of the syringe causes much pain and leaves welts on the backs of my arms. The electronic device I got from Bayer years ago while I was on the Betaseron is extremely gentle, causing little pain and leaves no welts. The Extavia syringes are much like, if not identical to, the original Betaseron syringes I used to get many years ago. The length of the syringe for Extavia and diameter of the syringe body are identical to the the Betaseron syringes. As I currently have both my last Betaseron syringe and my new Extavia syringes, I was able to take measurements from both and adapt the Extavia syringe to fit the Bayer machine. While as I indicated, it may be unethical to use a different vendors equipment for another vendors medication, I don't expect it to be illegal. I'm posting this model here in case somebody else's healthcare provider has done the same thing, and they wish to continue using the Betaconnect device. There are two pieces to this model. There is an adapter piece the replaces the little nylon piece at the base of the syringe body. Simply snap the nylon piece off the glass body and snap the printed piece on to the glass body. It will install only one way, and in one direction. The other piece, the plunger adapter, may or may not be required. It looks like the pusher in the Betaconnect device will probably actuate the plunger of the Extavia syringe, however, I wanted duplicate the form factor of the Betaseron syringe more precisely to avoid future problems. The plunger adapter simply snaps on the bottom of the plunger. With my print settings, the syringe body adapter takes 43 minutes to print, while the plunger adapter piece takes only 3 minutes. Due to the lengthy 43 minute print for the body piece, I recommend removing the model from the syringe after injection for use on the next injection. I have test fitted this model with the Extavia syringe on both the Betaject lite and Betaconnect device, and actually used the adapted syringe in the Betaconnect device. It worked perfectly and both pieces of the model were unscathed and re-usable after injection. I realize this is a niche item, however, I would love to read feedback from anyone who's used this model, whether his or her experience is good or bad.
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