Surgery – Instruments – Cutting – puncturing or piercing
Patent
1994-09-27
1996-01-30
Rimell, Sam
Surgery
Instruments
Cutting, puncturing or piercing
606181, 128770, A61B 514
Patent
active
054877482
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to blood sampling devices, and in particular to a pricker to draw a small drop of blood for analysis. Such prickers are widely used by diabetics, for example, who need to know their sugar level. However, there are many other applications.
These days, with AIDS, there is widespread concern surrounding the use of needles and their part in transmitting disease. Once a needle has been used on an infected person, subsequent use or an accidental prick on another could be fatal.
There is therefore a growing demand for a pricker which can be used just once and, having been used, is automatic-ally rendered safe for carriage and disposal.
Several such prickers have been proposed, for example in EP-A-0427406 and EP-A-0433050. These work well, and use a lancet which has been in production for many years. However, it is important for disposable objects with a very transient life to be made as simply and cheaply as possible, without compromising on effectiveness. This the present invention aims to do.
According to the present invention there is provided a disposable pricker comprising an elongate body with a spring-loaded lancet carried therein, the lancet tip normally being within the body, a trigger mechanism to retain the lance in a fully retracted position energising the spring means and actuable to release the lancet to cause the tip to have a momentary position projecting from the forward end of the body, and an elongate cap encasing the lancet tip and having a head external of the body, the cap providing means to retract the lancet and being breakable free of the lancet to leave the tip exposed.
Conveniently, the trigger mechanism comprises a rocker with an outwardly projecting portion for manual operation and an inwardly projecting portion for co-operation with the lancet. The rocker may be centrally connected to the main part of the body by small webs which are distortable to allow the rocker action.
It has been found beneficial for the rocker to have further means connecting it to the body to resist pivoting below a predetermined actuating force. This prevents accidental operation.
Preferably the trigger mechanism is formed integrally with the body, which will generally be moulded in plastics material with a certain resilience. As the lancet is pushed back to prime the device, a projection on it can snap past an inwardly projecting lug on one end of the trigger and this will temporarily hold the lancet retracted. Pressure on the other end of the trigger will raise the lug clear and release the lancet.
Although the body and trigger will preferably be integral, they may initially be moulded as two main parts, one of which contains the trigger, connected by a thin flexible web, presenting the body in an opened out condition. When the lancet and spring means are in place, these two parts will be folded together and secured, as by adhesive or ultrasonic welding.
In order to assist in breaking the cap away from the lancet, the latter may have an engagement with the interior of the body that prevents it rotating about its longitudinal axis, at least when the lancet is retracted. The cap may therefore be twisted off by one hand with the other holding the body.
Another characteristic of the fit of the lancet within the body is preferably that, once the lancet has been fired, it should tend to lie skew to the axis of the body. This would make it difficult, using the twisted off cap for example, to insert it again and press the lancet back for possible re-use.
For a better understanding of the invention, one embodiment will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section of a blood sampling pricker,
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the pricker of FIG. 1, and
FIG. 3 is a cross-section on the line III--III of FIG. 1.
The body of the pricker is of generally square tubular form and is of moulded plastics construction. Two channel-like parts 1 and 2 are closed together and secured in a plane A to form the tube, which is closed at the re
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Crossman David D.
Marshall Jeremy
Owen Mumford Limited
Rimell Sam
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