Lancing system for withdrawing a body fluid

• US 8,398,665 B2
• Filed: 10/11/2010
• Issued: 03/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Roche Diabetes Care Inc. (Roche Holding AG)
• Original Assignee: Roche Diagnostics Operations Incorporated (Roche Holding AG)
• Inventors: Seul, Thomas, Winheim, Sven, Reinhold, Thomas Sowden
• Primary Examiner(s): Houston, Elizabeth
• Application Number:
  US12/901,773
• Publication Number:
  US 20110224712A1
• Time in Patent Office: 890 Days
• Field of Search: 606181-184, 600/583
• US Class Current: 606/182
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/150022 for capillary blood or interstitial fluid
• 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 5/150503 Single-ended needles hollow piercing element tip design A61B5/150396, needle sets for catheters A61M25/06, needles for bringing media into the body A61M5/32
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/15113 Manually triggered, i.e. the triggering requires a deliberate action by the user such as pressing a drive button
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/15117 comprising biased elements, resilient elements or a spring, e.g. a helical spring, leaf spring, or elastic strap
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/15128 comprising 2D- or 3D-shaped elements, e.g. cams, curved guide rails or threads comprising tooth-shaped elements A61B5/15132
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1513 comprising linear sliding guides comprising tooth-shaped elements A61B5/15132
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1519 comprising driving means, e.g. a spring, for propelling the piercing unit
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/15194 fully automatically retracted, i.e. the retraction does not require a deliberate action by the user, e.g. by terminating the contact with the patient's skin

Abstract

Lancing system for withdrawing body fluid having a lancing element and a lancing instrument, which includes a lancing drive, by which a lancing movement of a lancing element is driven. The lancing drive comprises a drive source and a transmission having a housing coupling mechanism which includes at least two transmission links, a housing bearing, and a coupling element adapted for coupling a lancing element thereto. A lancing depth limiting stop is positioned in the housing so that a stop surface of the lancing element contacts the lancing depth limiting stop during the forward phase of the lancing movement. The housing coupling mechanism comprises a length compensation device to ensure a distance adaptation of the spacing between the lancing element and a housing bearing of the housing coupling mechanism during contact of the stops and further movement of the lancing drive.

Claims

1. A lancing system for withdrawing body fluid from the skin of a human or animal, the system comprising

a lancing element having a tip for piercing into the skin, and

a lancing instrument with a housing, including a lancing drive which drives a lancing movement of a lancing element, which is connected to the lancing drive,

wherein

the lancing drive comprises a drive source and a transmission, by which a movement of the drive source is converted into a lancing movement of the lancing element, the lancing movement including a forward phase during which the lancing element is moved along a predetermined piercing path in a piercing direction until the tip of the lancing element penetrates into the skin and a retraction phase during which the lancing element is retracted after reaching a reversal point corresponding to the lancing depth into the skin, and

the transmission includes a housing coupling mechanism which comprises at least two transmission links, a housing bearing that allows rotation but is translationally fixed relative to the housing, and a coupling element adapted for coupling a lancing element thereto, wherein a first, housing-side transmission link is connected by the housing bearing with housing of the lancing instrument and a second, lancing-element-side transmission link is connected to the coupling element,

a lancing depth limiting stop is so positioned in the housing that a stop surface of the lancing element contacts the lancing depth limiting stop during the forward phase of the lancing movement, such that the movement of the lancing element in the piercing direction is limited by contact of the stop surface of the lancing element with the lancing depth limiting stop, and

the housing coupling mechanism has a length compensation device adapted for a distance adaptation of the spacing between the lancing element and the housing bearing, said distance adaptation including a change of the position of the lancing element relative to the coupling element when the stop surface of the lancing element contacts the lancing depth limiting stop and the lancing drive continues to move from a first position to a second position, the tip of the lancing element being closer to the coupling element in the second position than in the first position.

2. The lancing system according to claim 1, characterized in that the length compensation device is provided between the coupling element and the lancing element and is adapted to allow an axial displacement of the lancing element relative to the coupling element after the contact of the stops.

3. The lancing system according to claim 1, characterized in that the coupling element is a lancing element holder, which is borne by an axial guide in the housing.

4. The lancing system according to claim 1, characterized in that a spring element, which acts in the piercing direction on the lancing element, is positioned between the coupling element and the lancing element.

5. The lancing system according to claim 1 characterized in that the connection between the coupling element and the lancing element is a friction-type connection.

6. The lancing system according to claim 1, characterized in that the lancing depth limiting stop is positioned relative to the stop surface of the lancing element so that the distance adaptation (ds) after the contact of the stops up to the reversal point of the lancing movement is at most 0.5 mm, preferably at most 0.4 mm, and particularly preferably at most 0.3 mm.

7. The lancing system according to claim 1, characterized in that the lancing element has a metal needle and a lancing element body made of plastic, and the stop surface is located on a forward front side of the lancing element body in the piercing direction.