Lancet device

• US 5,540,709 A
• Filed: 11/16/1994
• Issued: 07/30/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Urs A. Ramel
• Original Assignee: ActiMed Laboratories, Inc.
• Inventors: Ramel, Urs A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Thaler, Michael H.
• Application Number:
  US08/342,417
• Time in Patent Office: 622 Days
• Field of Search: 606/182, 606/183, 606/185, 606/186, 604/137, 604/157, 128/770
• US Class Current: 606/183
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/150022 for capillary blood or interstitial fluid
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/150427 Specific tip design, e.g. for improved penetration characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/15109 Fully automatically triggered, i.e. the triggering does not require a deliberate action by the user, e.g. by contact with the patient's skin
• 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 5/15142 Devices intended for single use, i.e. disposable

Abstract

A lancet device includes a body within which is slidably located a trigger and fixedly located a base. The base contains, in an armed position, the lance with its needle and a spring affixed to the lance. The trigger includes a mechanism to release the lance during use.

In a preferred embodiment, the lancet device of the present invention is self-activated by the finger (or other body part) to be pierced. Depression of the trigger with the finger releases the lance and the spring so that the needle protrudes through an orifice in the end of the trigger and pierces the tissue. Because the spring is held in a pre-armed position, release of the spring is consistent, and reproducibility of incision is well controlled.

Claims

1. A lancet device for piercing human or other animal tissue, comprising:

a lance, including a needle of a specific length and a shaft with an edge;

a tapered spring, the narrow diameter end of which is fixedly attached to said shaft of said lance;

a base, including a well wherein said lance and spring are located, and a plurality of arms with clips to hold said edge of said shaft of said lance for retaining said lance and spring in a compressed armed position prior to use;

means for fixedly attaching the large diameter end of said spring to said base;

a trigger, including a barrel with an outer surface and a hollow center to slidably accept said lance, an end with an orifice to allow said needle to protrude through said orifice when said lance and spring are released from said armed position to pierce the human or other animal tissue, said end having a specific wall thickness for controlling the depth of penetration of said needle of specific length into said tissue, and clip-deflecting edges to spread said arms and release said lance and spring from said armed position when said trigger is depressed by a body part to be pierced;

a body, including a barrel with an inner surface, a hollow center, apertures in both ends to slidably accept said trigger and fixedly accept said base, a ring on the inner surface of the body, and a lip extending out from a first end of said body, a distal end of said lip being in about the same plane as the face of said orifice-containing end of said trigger when said trigger is inserted into said body;

means for fixedly attaching said base to said body; and

a ring on said outer surface of said trigger, wherein, when the device is in the armed position, the trigger ring abuts the body ring to align said orifice-containing end of said trigger in a plane with said body lip.

2. A device as in claim 1 wherein said lance includes a plurality of needles.

3. A device as in claim 1 wherein said base, trigger and body are made of polystyrene.

4. A device as in claim 1 wherein said base, trigger and body are injection molded.

5. The lancet device of claim 1, wherein the device can be constructed by:

(a) inserting the trigger into the body through the base-accepting aperture until the trigger contacts the body ring; and

(b) inserting the base, spring and lance, wherein the lance is retained by the clips, into the base-accepting aperture until the base if fixedly accepted by the body.