Lancet Carrier Trough Design for Sensor Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Integrated lancet and sensor devices often suffer from damage to the sensor strip due to improper removal of the lancet protective cover, which can apply torquing forces that bend the sensor strip and cause damage, and there is a risk of the lancet carrier disengaging from the measuring meter during removal.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a lancet carrier with a trough-forming member that replaces a portion of the recess bottom surface at the open end, allowing for downward force application without the edge becoming a fulcrum, and includes an external bottom rib with a retaining notch to prevent inadvertent removal from the meter, along with a method to identify the type of analyte the sensor strip can measure through a configuration on its bottom surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the lancet protective cover is removed by applying force at the open end of the lancet carrier, then the cover can be removed, but the edge of the carrier becomes a fulcrum that torques and bends the sensor strip causing damage
Solution Approach 1:
A trough-forming member is introduced as an intermediary structure between the protective cover and the sensor strip. This trough receives the protective cover during removal, preventing the carrier edge from acting as a fulcrum and thereby eliminating the harmful torque that would damage the sensor strip.
Solution Approach 2:
The trough-forming member creates a new spatial dimension for the protective cover during removal. Instead of the cover being forced directly against the carrier edge (2D plane), the trough provides a third dimension that allows the cover to be guided away from the sensor strip, preventing contact and damage.
2Ease of operation
If the lancet carrier is designed with an open structure for easy access, then the lancet can be easily accessed, but the carrier may be inadvertently removed from the measuring meter
Solution Approach 1:
The retention mechanism is segmented into discrete elements: an external bottom rib extending along the carrier body and a retaining notch formed in this rib. This segmentation allows the carrier to be securely retained in the meter while maintaining easy access to the lancet through the open structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The retention mechanism replaces complex mechanical locking systems with a simple geometric interlock between the external bottom rib and the retaining notch in the meter. This substitution provides reliable retention without compromising the open structure needed for lancet access.
3Device complexity
If the sensor strip is positioned close to the lancet for integration, then the device is compact, but the sensor strip is vulnerable to damage during protective cover removal
Solution Approach 1:
The trough-forming member serves as a protective intermediary that shields the sensor strip from direct contact with the protective cover during removal. This allows the sensor strip to remain integrated close to the lancet for device compactness while preventing damage through the trough's protective geometry.
Data Source
AI summary
A lancet carrier for an integrated lancet sensor assembly incorporating a lance cover includes an elongated body with a bottom, an open top, a body open end and a body closed end, a lancet-receiving recess with a recess bottom surface, the recess extending between the open end and the closed end, and a trough-forming member forming a trough with a trough open end in communication with the body open end, the trough-forming member longitudinally extending a predefined distance along the bottom from the body open end, the trough replacing a portion of the recess bottom surface at the body open end.