Saddle-Shaped Lancing Tip for Fingertip Blood Expression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current lancing devices require users to 'milk' the lanced site to express blood, adding complexity and are not suitable for use on the fingertip due to the need for a flat surface and seal creation, especially on non-uniform surfaces like the fingertip.
Innovation Solution
A lancing device with a saddle-shaped tip that gathers flesh towards the center of the lanced site, combined with a pressure sleeve that compresses with minimum threshold force, allowing blood to be expressed without manual milking and without the need for a seal or flat surface support.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a flat surface is used to create a seal for vacuum application, then blood expression is improved, but the device cannot be used on the fingertip due to the non-uniform surface
Solution Approach 1:
The tip is designed with a saddle-shaped curved surface that conforms to the topography of the fingertip. This curvature allows the tip to adapt to the non-uniform surface of the fingertip while maintaining contact and applying pressure effectively, eliminating the need for a flat surface and seal creation.
Solution Approach 2:
The saddle-shaped tip creates a localized pressure application area that gathers flesh toward the center of the lanced site. This local concentration of pressure and flesh gathering is specifically designed to work with the fingertip's anatomy, providing effective blood expression without requiring a seal around the entire lanced site.
2Quantity of substance
If manual milking is required to express blood, then blood volume can be obtained, but the operation becomes more complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The lancing device performs the blood expression function automatically through its saddle-shaped tip design. When the user applies downward pressure, the tip's geometry automatically gathers flesh toward the center and facilitates blood flow without requiring the user to perform additional manual milking actions.
Solution Approach 2:
The lancing and blood expression functions are merged into a single integrated action. The saddle-shaped tip simultaneously performs the lancing function and the blood gathering/expression function, eliminating the need for separate manual milking steps and simplifying the overall operation.
3Ease of operation
If vacuum devices are used to express blood, then blood can be expressed without manual milking, but the device requires a seal and flat surface support
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces the vacuum-based mechanical system with a direct pressure application system. Instead of creating a vacuum and relying on seal formation, the saddle-shaped tip directly applies pressure and uses its geometry to gather flesh and express blood, eliminating the need for sealing mechanisms.
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 quick and efficient blood volume acquisition without manual manipulation, facilitating blood glucose measurement by applying downward pressure, and is usable on the fingertip without the need for additional support or sealing.
Implementation Method 1
a tip shaped to gather flesh toward the center of the lanced site
Implementation Method 2
A spring is connected between the housing and the pressure sleeve
Data Source
AI summary
A tip (41) for use with a lancing device (11). A wall extends upwardly from a base and forms a substantially saddle-shaped distal surface for interfacing with a patient's skin. An opening (43) extends entirely through the tip. The tip (41) is movably received by a pressure sleeve assembly. The pressure sleeve assembly includes a housing (37) and a pressure sleeve movable between first and second positions. A spring (35) is connected between the housing (37) and the pressure sleeve. A lancet (21) is rigidly fixed to the housing (37) and is covered when the pressure sleeve is in the first position and exposed through the substantially saddle-shaped distal surface (42) of the tip (41) when the pressure sleeve is in the second position. The substantially saddleshaped distal surface (42) gathers the patient's skin toward the center of the tip to facilitate expressing blood from a lanced site.