Rotary Fluid Collection Device with Mechanical Deployment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for obtaining blood or other fluids from subjects, such as phlebotomy, require sophisticated equipment and training, making them difficult to perform in non-medical settings and are not easily accessible for fluid reception and separation processes.
Innovation Solution
A device with a housing, deployment actuator, and rotatable elements that deploy needles to pierce the skin, allowing for fluid collection without the need for vacuum pre-application, featuring a mechanical deployment mechanism that includes a rotary latch and retraction spring for efficient fluid extraction and storage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional phlebotomy equipment and methods are used, then reliable fluid collection is achieved, but device complexity and training requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple functions into a single integrated device: the needle assembly, deployment actuator, carrier, and fluid collection chamber are merged into one unit. This eliminates the need for separate vacuum tubes, syringes, and needles that characterize traditional phlebotomy equipment, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining fluid collection reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The device serves multiple functions within a single system: it performs skin puncture, fluid extraction, and fluid containment without requiring separate equipment for each function. The housing acts as both the deployment mechanism and the collection chamber, providing multi-functionality that reduces the overall complexity of the equipment needed.
2Quantity of substance
If traditional phlebotomy procedures are used, then sufficient fluid can be obtained, but the procedure becomes difficult to perform in non-medical settings
Solution Approach 1:
The device is designed to be self-contained and self-operating to the extent possible. The deployment actuator automatically advances the needle and carrier through a simple user input, eliminating the need for practitioners to manually manipulate multiple components. This self-service design enables non-medical users to perform fluid collection safely and effectively.
Solution Approach 2:
The needle and carrier are pre-loaded into the housing in a ready-to-deploy configuration. The deployment actuator is pre-positioned to advance these components upon activation. This preliminary preparation eliminates the need for practitioners to assemble complex equipment during the procedure, making the process accessible to non-medical settings while ensuring sufficient fluid collection capability.
3Ease of operation
If a simple deployment mechanism is used, then ease of operation improves, but control over fluid collection process may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The device incorporates mechanical feedback through the interaction between the rotatable element and deployment actuator. As the carrier moves forward during deployment, the rotatable element rotates in response, providing tactile feedback to the user about the deployment progress. This feedback mechanism ensures reliable process control while maintaining simple operation, as the user can feel when deployment is complete without requiring complex electronic sensors or controls.
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
Enables efficient and accessible fluid collection from the skin, reducing the complexity of the process and eliminating the need for extensive training, while ensuring a sealed and controlled environment for fluid storage and anticoagulant distribution.
Implementation Method 1
The at least one spring member contacts the carrier prior to the initiating element contacting the deployment actuator
Implementation Method 2
a rotatable element that contacts the deployment actuator to actuate the deployment actuator after actuation of the device actuator. The rotatable element is rotatable relative to the housing. In addition, actuation of the device actuator causes the rotatable element to rotate and move toward the deployment actuator
Implementation Method 3
A stiffness of the at least one spring member is greater than a stiffness of the retraction actuator
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention generally relates to receiving bodily fluid through a device opening. In one aspect, the device includes a flow activator arranged to cause fluid to be released from a subject. A deployment actuator may actuate the flow activator in a deployment direction, which may in turn cause fluid release from a subject. The flow activator may also be moved in a retraction direction by a retraction actuator. In one aspect, the device may include a rotatable element that actuates the deployment actuator.