Push-Activated Lancet Device with Disposable Housing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical puncturing devices, such as lancets, face challenges in ensuring sterility before use and safe disposal after use, particularly in preventing reuse and minimizing the risk of disease transmission due to complex designs and costly components like metal coil springs.
Innovation Solution
A lancet device with a housing comprising two movable portions and a lancet structure, utilizing a drive structure and guiding surfaces for axial movement to extend and retract the puncturing element, featuring leaf springs for retention and a locking mechanism to prevent reuse, ensuring sterility and safe disposal through a simple, reliable, and disposable design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If complex designs with metal coil springs are used for lancet activation, then reliable automatic puncturing is achieved, but manufacturing cost increases and device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex metal coil spring mechanism from the lancet device and replaces it with a simple manual push activation system. The puncturing element is directly connected to the housing, allowing the user to simply push the housing forward to activate the lancet, eliminating the need for complex spring mechanisms while maintaining reliable puncturing function.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using a spring mechanism that automatically ejects the lancet upon triggering, the patent inverts the approach by using a manual push system where the user directly actuates the puncturing element. This simplifies the mechanism while achieving the same functional result of reliable automatic puncturing through straightforward user interaction.
2Reliability
If sterile packaging is used to maintain sterility before use, then contamination is prevented, but the device requires additional packaging components and complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the sterile packaging function with the device housing itself. The housing is designed to be the sterile barrier, eliminating the need for separate sterile packaging components. The housing encloses the puncturing element and maintains sterility through its own structural design, integrating multiple functions into a single component.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing serves multiple functions: it protects the puncturing element, maintains sterility, provides the activation mechanism, and enables safe disposal. By making the housing multi-functional, the patent eliminates the need for additional packaging components while maintaining reliable sterility protection throughout the device lifecycle.
3Ease of manufacture
If the puncturing element is designed for reuse, then device cost decreases, but the risk of disease transmission increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the entire lancet device as a disposable single-use unit. The housing and puncturing element are manufactured as an integrated disposable component that is discarded after one use. This eliminates the risk of disease transmission through reuse while keeping manufacturing costs low through simple, injection-moldable designs without complex reusable mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the lancet device into a disposable main body containing the puncturing element and a separate reusable collection vial. By separating the functions, the puncturing portion can be safely discarded after one use to prevent disease transmission, while only the non-contaminated vial needs to be reused, optimizing both safety and cost-effectiveness.
4Ease of operation
If automatic ejection and retraction mechanisms are implemented, then user safety is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a self-contained safety mechanism where the housing itself provides the retraction force through its elastic deformation during activation. As the user pushes the housing forward to activate the lancet, the housing naturally recoils and automatically retracts the puncturing element back into the housing after penetration, providing user safety without requiring separate complex retraction mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the activation and retraction functions into a single integrated housing structure. The same elastic deformation of the housing that enables forward movement for puncturing also provides the automatic retraction force. This combines multiple safety functions into one simple mechanism, improving user safety while minimizing device complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device ensures sterility before use and safe disposal after use by preventing reuse, reducing the risk of disease transmission and eliminating the need for costly components, while being easy to manufacture and assemble, with efficient and simultaneous extension and retraction of the puncturing element.
Implementation Method 1
a resilient finger, such as by deflecting the resilient finger out of engagement with the abutment surface
Implementation Method 2
The resilient finger may be integral to the lancet structure or may comprise a leaf spring
Data Source
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AI summary
A lancet device including a lancet having a puncturing element disposed within a two-piece housing including a rear housing and a forward housing. Relative axial movement of the rear housing toward the forward housing directly drives the lancet to a puncturing position wherein the puncturing element extends through the forward housing. During such relative axial movement, a drive structure applies a driving force against the lancet and disengages from the lancet based on deflecting structure in the housing, thereby releasing the driving force applied to the lancet. A retention member then retracts the lancet back within the housing, with the drive structure maintained disengaged from the lancet to prevent re-use.