Sensor insertion/recovery device

• US 9,066,696 B2
• Filed: 08/30/2011
• Issued: 06/30/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: ARKRAY, Inc
• Original Assignee: ARKRAY, Inc
• Inventors: Shoshihara, Tomohiro, Murase, Yosuke, Yamamoto, Akihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Mallari, Patricia
• Assistant Examiner(s): BLOCH, MICHAEL RYAN
• Application Number:
  US13/221,823
• Publication Number:
  US 20120053608A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,400 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14532 for measuring glucose, e.g. by tissue impedance measurement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/14865 invasive, e.g. introduced into the body by a catheter or needle or using implanted sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6849 in combination with a needle set

Abstract

The present invention provides a sensor insertion and removing device which is user-friendly and which does not cause infection. The sensor insertion and removing device has a sensor; a puncture blade member; a housing which houses the sensor and the puncture blade member; a guide part which is provided within the housing and which glidably supports the puncture blade member; a puncture blade operating part which inserts the sensor under the skin by causing the puncture blade member to glide along the guide part integrally with the sensor, upon delivering the puncture blade member outside the housing to puncture the skin, and which causes the puncture blade member to glide along the guide part in a state of being separated from the sensor, upon removing the puncture blade member from under the skin into the housing, and a sensor operating part which pulls out the sensor from under the skin and removes it from under the skin into the housing.

Claims

1. A sensor insertion and removing device, comprising:

a sensor;

a puncture blade member;

a housing which houses the sensor and the puncture blade member;

a guide part which is provided within the housing and which glidibly supports the puncture blade member;

a puncture blade operating part including a first grip part which is fixed to a predetermined first basic portion in the puncture blade member, and inserted through an operation opening so as to be exposed outside the housing;

a sensor operating part including a second grip part which is fixed to a predetermined second basic portion in the sensor, and inserted through the operation opening so as to be exposed outside the housing;

wherein the puncture blade operating part delivers the puncture blade member integrally with the sensor towards the outside of the housing in coordination with the movement of the first grip part to a first direction with respect to the housing, and removes the puncture blade member into the housing in coordination with the movement of the first grip part to a second direction which is opposite the first direction, and

the sensor operating part delivers the sensor towards the outside of the housing in coordination with the movement of the second grip part driven by the movement of the first grip part to the first direction with respect to the housing, and removes the sensor into the housing in coordination with the movement of the second grip part to the second direction.

2. The sensor insertion and removing device according to claim 1, wherein

the puncture blade member includes a concave part for slidably receiving the sensor along a longitudinal direction of the puncture blade member, and

when the puncture blade operating part causes the puncture blade member to glide along the guide part integrally with the sensor, the sensor is maintained in a fitted state of being fitted in the concave part of the puncture blade member, and the fitted state is released when the puncture blade operating part causes the puncture blade member to glide along the guide part in a state of being separated from the sensor.

3. The sensor insertion and removing device according to claim 2, wherein the depth of the concave part is set to be equal to or greater than the thickness of the sensor.

4. The sensor insertion and removing device according to claim 3, wherein the sensor has a distal end having a distal end surface, said distal end surface of the sensor is inclined toward a base end side of the sensor from an exposed surface, which is on an opposite side to a contact surface which comes in contact with a bottom surface of the concave part, to the contact surface.

5. The sensor insertion and removing device according to claim 2, wherein the sensor has a distal end having a distal end surface, said distal end surface of the sensor is inclined toward a base end side of the sensor from an exposed surface, which is on an opposite side to a contact surface which comes in contact with a bottom surface of the concave part, to the contact surface.

6. The sensor insertion and removing device according to claim 1, wherein

the guide part includes a linear guide part which is formed linearly, and the operation opening in the housing is formed linearly so as to oppose the linear guide part,

the gliding operation of the puncture blade member is performed in conjunction with the sliding operation of the first grip part through the operation opening, and

the removing operation of the sensor is performed in conjunction with the sliding operation of the second grip part through the operation opening.

7. The sensor insertion and removing device according to claim 1, wherein

the guide part includes an arc-shaped guide part which is formed in an arc shape,

the gliding operation of the puncture blade member is performed in conjunction with rotational operation of the first grip part, and

the removing operation of the sensor is performed in conjunction with rotational operation of the second grip part.

8. The sensor insertion and removing device according to claim 1, wherein the puncture blade operating part has a first surface and the sensor operating part has a second surface, said first surface and said second surface mutually come in contact only during the operation, by the puncture blade operating part, of delivering the puncture blade member outside the housing.

9. The sensor insertion and removing device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a first restricting part which restricts the operation, by the puncture blade operating part, of delivering the puncture blade member outside the housing, wherein

the first restricting part is provided so that the sensor reaches a predetermined target insertion depth at a point in time when restriction by the first restricting part is started.

10. The sensor insertion and removing device according to claim 9, wherein

the sensor operating part further includes a locking pin which is biased toward an inner wall surface of the housing by an elastic member, and

the inner wall surface of the housing is provided with a locking hole to which the locking pin is fitted at the point in time when restriction by the first restricting part is started.

11. The sensor insertion and removing device according to claim 1, wherein the guide part is axially supported in a swingable manner relative to the housing,

the sensor insertion and removing device further comprising a puncture angle adjustment unit for adjusting a puncture angle of the puncture blade member by changing a swing stop position of the guide part relative to the housing.

12. A sensor insertion and removing method, comprising the steps of:

a setup step of setting, on skin, a sensor insertion and removing device, which comprises a sensor;

a puncture blade member;

a housing which houses the sensor and the puncture blade member;

a guide part which is provided within the housing and which glidably supports the puncture blade member;

a puncture blade operating part including a first grip part which is fixed to a predetermined first basic portion in the puncture blade member, and inserted through an operation opening so as to be exposed outside the housing; and

a sensor operating part including a second grip part which is fixed to a predetermined second basic portion in the sensor, and inserted through the operation opening so as to be exposed outside the housing;

a sensor insertion step of inserting, after the setup step, the sensor under the skin by causing the puncture blade member to glide along the guide part integrally with the sensor, upon delivering the puncture blade member outside the housing to puncture the skin in coordination with the movement of the first grip part to a first direction with respect to the housing;

a puncture blade removing step of removing, after the sensor insertion step, the puncture blade member from under the skin into the housing by causing the puncture blade member to glide along the guide part in a state of being separated from the sensor in coordination with the movement of the first grip part to a second direction which is opposite to the first direction; and

a sensor removing step of removing, after the puncture blade removing step, the sensor from under the skin into the housing by pulling the sensor out from under the skin in coordination with the movement of the second grip part to the second direction.

13. The sensor insertion and removing method according to claim 12, wherein

the puncture blade member includes a concave part for slidably receiving the sensor along a longitudinal direction of the puncture blade member,

in the sensor insertion step, the sensor is maintained in a fitted state of being fitted in the concave part of the puncture blade member, and

in the puncture blade removing step, the fitted state is released.

14. The sensor insertion and removing method according to claim 12, the guide part is axially supported in a swingable manner relative to the housing,

the sensor insertion and removing method further comprising a puncture angle adjustment step of adjusting a puncture angle of the puncture blade member by changing a swing stop position of the guide part relative to the housing before the sensor insertion step.