Vacuum-Assisted Lancing System for Pain-Reduced Blood Extraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current blood extraction devices are painful, especially for sensitive areas like fingertips, and often require maintenance or are not portable, limiting their use and accuracy in blood glucose monitoring for diabetes management.
Innovation Solution
A vacuum-assisted lancing system with a device body, lancing shaft, lancing spring, release mechanism, and shaft coupler, which creates a vacuum to minimize pain and allow blood extraction from less sensitive areas without batteries or motorized components, featuring a lance tool with easy replacement and vibration to mask discomfort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If blood extraction is performed from highly vascularized areas like fingertips, then sufficient blood quantity is obtained, but pain sensitivity increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating a vacuum field localized to the lancing site, which selectively enhances blood flow and extraction at the specific location without requiring high vascularization across the entire sampling area. This allows use of less sensitive areas while maintaining adequate blood quantity through localized vacuum assistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The vacuum is created before and during the lancing process, preparing the tissue in advance to facilitate easier blood extraction. This preliminary vacuum application reduces the force needed for lancing and minimizes pain while ensuring sufficient blood flow to the collection area.
2Productivity
If vacuum assisted devices use mechanized vacuum pumps, then blood extraction capability is enhanced, but portability is significantly reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex mechanized vacuum pump from the system and replaces it with a simplified vacuum mechanism that can be integrated into a portable device. By removing the bulky motorized components, the device becomes handheld and portable while retaining vacuum-assisted blood extraction capability through a more compact vacuum generation method.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes complex motorized vacuum pump mechanics with a simpler vacuum generation mechanism that does not require batteries or motors. This replacement maintains the essential vacuum function for enhanced blood extraction while dramatically improving portability and eliminating maintenance requirements.
3Extent of automation
If multiple lances are housed in the same holder with automatic selection, then lance replacement is automated, but device complexity and maintenance requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies self-service by designing a lance holder that automatically presents the next sterile lance in the sequence without requiring complex electronic control systems. The automatic selection is achieved through simple mechanical indexing that advances to the next lance position, providing automated functionality while maintaining device simplicity and reducing maintenance needs.
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 system enables efficient and pain-reduced blood extraction from various skin areas, including less sensitive ones, promoting adherence to testing schedules and maintaining accuracy in blood glucose monitoring without the need for frequent device maintenance or battery replacement.
Implementation Method 1
A vacuum-assisted lancing system with a device body, lancing shaft, lancing spring, release mechanism, and shaft coupler, which creates a vacuum to minimize pain and allow blood extraction from less sensitive areas
Data Source
AI summary
A lancing system can include a device body having a sealing device coupled to a lancing end, a lancing shaft slideably coupled to the lancing end, a lancing spring coupled to the lancing shaft, a release mechanism, a main shaft slideably coupled with a free end of the device body in communication with the release mechanism, a piston coupled to the main shaft, a vacuum spring coupled to the piston, and a shaft coupler having at least two separable portions for removably coupling the lancing shaft to the main shaft. The system can include a lance tool having an insertion portion and a removal portion. A method can include creating a first portion of a vacuum, lancing a surface, and creating a second portion of a vacuum.