Blood lancet system for blood withdrawal for diagnostic purposes

• US 6,602,268 B2
• Filed: 06/19/2001
• Issued: 08/05/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Roche Diabetes Care Inc. (Roche Holding AG)
• Original Assignee: Roche Diagnostics Corporation (Roche Holding AG)
• Inventors: Kuhr, Hans-Jurgen, Forster, Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): PATEL, TAJASH D
• Application Number:
  US09/884,305
• Publication Number:
  US 20020040230A1
• Time in Patent Office: 777 Days
• Field of Search: 606/181, 606/182, 606/183-185, 606/167, 606/188
• US Class Current: 606/181
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/150022 for capillary blood or interstitial fluid
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/150183 Depth adjustment mechanism using end caps mounted at the distal end of the sampling device, i.e. the end-caps are adjustably positioned relative to the piercing device housing for example by rotating or screwing
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/150412 Pointed piercing elements, e.g. needles, lancets for piercing the skin blade-like piercing elements A61B5/150442
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/150519 Details of construction of hub, i.e. element used to attach the single-ended needle to a piercing device or sampling device
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/150549 Protectors removed by rotational movement, e.g. torsion or screwing
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/150564 Protectors removed by pulling or pushing
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/150618 Integrally moulded protectors, e.g. protectors simultaneously moulded together with a further component, e.g. a hub, of the piercing element
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/150717 manually removed
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/15186 Devices loaded with a single lancet, i.e. a single lancet with or without a casing is loaded into a reusable drive device and then discarded after use; drive devices reloadable for multiple use
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1519 comprising driving means, e.g. a spring, for propelling the piercing unit

Abstract

Blood lancet system for blood withdrawal for diagnostic purposes with a housing, a lancet holder movable in the housing for holding an exchangeable lancet, and a lancet drive for driving the pricking movement of the lancet holder with the lancet contained herein. The housing has a cap at the front end in pricking direction which can be removed in order to remove a used lancet from the lancet holder.

The lancet and the housing cap are coupled, during the attachment of the housing cap, by a coupling mechanism comprising coupling elements matched to each other and enabling the extraction of the lancet from the lancet holder simultaneously with removing the housing cap.

Claims

1. Blood lancet system for blood withdrawal for diagnostic purposes, comprising

a lancet and

a pricking apparatus with a housing, a lancet holder movable in the housing for holding an exchangeable lancet, and a lancet drive for driving a pricking movement of the lancet on a predetermined pricking path,

the housing comprises a cap to be attached at a forward end thereof in pricking direction, the cap being removable for removing a used lancet out of the housing,

the lancet and the cap are adapted to be automatically coupled, during attaching the cap to the housing, by a coupling mechanism comprising matching coupling elements, thereby enabling the extraction of the lancet from the lancet holder without additional handling steps by removing the cap

wherein

the coupling mechanism comprises a movable ejector for ejecting the lancet, and

a coupling element of the ejector and a corresponding coupling element of the cap are adapted to each other such that the cap is coupled to the ejector during attachment of the cap to the housing and during removal of the cap.

2. Blood lancet system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the coupling elements has a protrusion, which is elastically biased in a direction transversal to the pricking direction and which latches during the coupling of the lancet and the cap into a corresponding recess of the other coupling element.

3. Blood lancet system according to claim 1, wherein the lancet comprises a lancet body made of plastic, a lancet needle fixed in the lancet body, and a tip cover element covering the lancet tip, the tip cover element being connected to the lancet body via a breaking point such that it can be removed after the insertion of the lancet into the lancet holder in order to expose the lancet tip protruding from the lancet body.

4. Blood lancet system according to claim 1, wherein

the cap has a contact surface for contacting the blood lancet apparatus to the skin,

the cap can be fixed to the housing at a defined position in the pricking direction, and

the longitudinal position of the cap in the pricking direction can be adjusted by an adjustment device in order to adjust the pricking depth.

5. Blood lancet system according to claim 1, wherein the cap has a contact surface for contacting the blood lancet apparatus to the skin, the cap can be fixed to the housing at a defined position in the pricking direction, and the longitudinal position of the cap in the pricking direction can be adjusted by an adjustment device in order to adjust the pricking depth.

6. Blood lancet system for blood withdrawal for diagnostic purposes, comprising

a lancet.

a pricking apparatus with a housing, a lancet holder movable in the housing for holding an exchangeable lancet, and a lancet drive for driving a pricking movement of the lancet on a predetermined pricking path, wherein the housing comprises a cap to be attached at a forward end thereof in pricking direction, the cap being removable for removing a used lancet out of the housing, and the lancet and the cap are adapted to be coupled, during attaching the cap to the housing, by a coupling mechanism comprising matching zoupling elements, thereby enabling the extraction of the lancet from the lancet holder by removing the cap, and

an ejector which is movable in the housing in the pricking direction for ejecting the lancet from the lancet holder, is a component of the coupling mechanism, and has at a first end thereof a first of the matching coupling elements and at a second end thereof a lancet contact element contacting the lancet during the ejection thereof.

7. Blood lancet system according to claim 6, wherein a second of the matching coupling elements is arranged at the cap.

8. Blood lancet system according to claim 6, wherein the ejector has an intermediate part guided by a guide element such that it is movable parallel to the pricking path, the front end of the intermediate part being connected to the coupling element and the rear end of the intermediate part being connected to the lancet contact element.

9. Blood lancet system according to claim 8, wherein the movable intermediate part comprises a sleeve surrounding a lancet which is inserted in the holder.

10. Blood lancet system according to claim 6, wherein the cap has a contact surface for contacting the blood lancet apparatus to the skin, the cap can be fixed to the housing at a defined position in the pricking direction, and the longitudinal position of the cap in the pricking direction can be adjusted by an adjustment device in order to adjust the pricking depth.

11. Blood lancet system according to claim 6, wherein at least one of the coupling elements has a protrusion which is elastically biased in a direction transversal to the pricking direction and which latches during the coupling of the lancet and the cap into a corresponding recess of the other coupling element.

12. Blood lancet system according to claim 6, wherein the lancet comprises a lancet body made of plastic, a lancet needle fixed in the lancet body, and a tip cover element covering the lancet tip, the tip cover element being connected to the lancet body via a breaking point such that it can be removed after the insertion of the lancet into the lancet holder in order to expose the lancet tip protruding from the lancet body.

13. Blood lancet system according to claim 6, wherein the cap has a contact surface for contacting the blood lancet apparatus to the skin, the cap can be fixed to the housing at a defined position in the pricking direction, and the longitudinal position of the cap in the pricking direction can be adjusted by an adjustment device in order to adjust the pricking depth.

14. Blood lancet system for blood withdrawal for diagnostic purposes, comprising

a lancet and

a pricking apparatus with a housing, a lancet holder movable in the housing for holding an exchangeable lancet, and a lancet drive for driving a pricking movement of the lancet on a predetermined pricking path,

the housing comprising a cap to be attached at a forward end thereof in pricking direction, the cap being removable for removing a used lancet out of the housing,

the lancet and the cap being adapted to be automatically coupled, during attaching the cap to the housing, by a coupling mechanism comprising matching coupling elements, thereby enabling the extraction of the lancet from the lancet holder without additional handling steps by removing the cap,

wherein

the coupling mechanism comprises a movable ejector for ejecting the lancet, a coupling element of the ejector and a corresponding coupling element of the cap are adapted to each other such that the cap is coupled to the ejector during attachment of the cap to the housing and during removal of the cap after the pricking action the lancet is ejected from the lancet holder in such a manner that the used lancet falls into the cap or remains unattached in the lower section of the housing, whereby the used lancet can be disposed without user contact.

15. Blood lancet system according to claim 14, wherein a second of the matching coupling elements is arranged at the cap.

16. Blood lancet system according to claim 14, wherein the ejector has an intermediate part guided by a guide element such that it is movable parallel to the pricking path, the front end of the intermediate part being connected to the coupling element and the rear end of the intermediate part being connected to the lancet contact element.

17. Blood lancet system according to claim 16, wherein the movable intermediate part comprises a sleeve surrounding a lancet which is inserted in the holder.

18. Blood lancet system according to claim 14, wherein at least one of the coupling elements has a protrusion which is elastically biased in a direction transversal to the pricking direction and which latches during the coupling of the lancet and the cap into a corresponding recess of the other coupling element.

19. Blood lancet system according to claim 14, wherein the lancet comprises a lancet body made of plastic, a lancet needle fixed in the lancet body, and a tip cover element covering the lancet tip, the tip cover element being connected to the lancet body via a breaking point such that it can be removed after the insertion of the lancet into the lancet holder in order to expose the lancet tip protruding from the lancet body.

20. Blood lancet system according to claim 14, wherein the cap has a contact surface for contacting the blood lancet apparatus to the skin, the cap can be fixed to the housing at a defined position in the pricking direction, and the longitudinal position of the cap in the pricking direction can be adjusted by an adjustment device in order to adjust the pricking depth.