Automated blood sampling device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10327689-B2
Application number	US-201715660725-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 26, 2017
Priority date	Mar 2, 2015
Publication date	Jun 25, 2019
Grant date	Jun 25, 2019

Abstract

Devices are provided to automatically access blood from beneath or within skin. These devices include an injector configured to drive a needle into the skin and subsequently to retract the needle from the skin. These devices additionally include a seal to which suction is applied. To drive the needle into the skin, the needle is first driven through the seal, creating at least one hole in the seal. The suction applied to the seal acts to draw blood from the puncture formed in the skin by the needle, through the at least one hole in the seal, and to a sensor, blood storage element, or other payload. These devices can be wearable and configured to automatically access blood from skin, for example, to access blood from the skin at one or more points in time while a wearer of a device is sleeping.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system comprising:
a needle;
a chamber, wherein the needle is disposed at least partially within the chamber;
a propellant disposed within the chamber;
a piston disposed within the chamber, wherein the needle is coupled to the piston, wherein the piston is configured to slidably move within the chamber, wherein the propellant is ignitable to slidably move the piston within the chamber to drive the needle into skin to form a puncture in the skin, wherein the piston includes a vent, wherein the vent is configured to allow gases produced by ignition of the propellant to vent through the piston.

2. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a spring, wherein the spring is coupled to the piston, wherein the piston slidably moving within the chamber to drive the needle into skin compresses the spring such that, subsequent to the needle being driven into the skin, the spring exerts a force to retract the needle from the skin.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the chamber comprises a further vent, wherein the further vent is configured to allow gases produced by ignition of the propellant to vent through the further vent into an environment of the system.

4. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a resistive heating element; and
a controller, wherein the controller is configured to operate the resistive heating element to ignite the propellant.

5. The system of claim 4 , further comprising a printed circuit board, wherein the chamber is formed in a housing, wherein the chamber is closed by a circuit board adhered to the housing, and wherein the resistive heating element is disposed on the printed circuit board.

6. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a light source; and
a controller, wherein the controller is configured to operate the light source to ignite the propellant.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the propellant comprises nitrocellulose.

8. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a suction source; and
a seal, wherein the seal is coupled to the suction source such that the seal receives suction provided by the suction source, wherein the propellant is ignitable to slidably move the piston within the chamber to drive the needle through the seal to form a hole in the seal when the seal is receiving suction provided by the suction source, and wherein the suction provided by the suction source is sufficient to draw blood from a formed puncture in the skin through the formed hole in the seal.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the suction source comprises an evacuated volume.

10. The system of claim 8 , wherein the suction source comprises an evacuated volume having a pressure less than approximately 50 kilopascal.

11. The system of claim 8 , wherein the seal comprises a concave depression, wherein the propellant is ignitable to slidably move the piston within the chamber to drive the needle through the concave depression of the seal to form a hole in the seal, and wherein the suction provided by the suction source is sufficient to suction the skin into the concave depression.

12. The system of claim 8 , further comprising a blood storage element, wherein the suction provided by the suction source is sufficient to draw blood through the formed hole in the seal to the blood storage element, and wherein the blood storage element is configured to store blood drawn by the suction to the blood storage element.

13. The system of claim 8 , further comprising a sensor, wherein the sensor is configured to detect a property of blood to which the sensor is exposed, wherein the suction provided by the suction source is sufficient to draw blood through the formed hole in the seal to the sensor.

14. The system of claim 8 , further comprising a conformal layer, wherein the conformal layer is configured to conform to the skin such that the suction provided by the suction source through the formed hole in the seal applies suction to the skin proximate the hole in the seal.

15. The system of claim 1 , wherein the system comprises a body-mountable device, wherein the body-mountable device is configured to be mounted to a surface of the skin.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the needle, piston, chamber, and propellant are disposed in a first sampling section of the body-mountable device, and wherein the body-mountable device further comprises one or more additional sampling sections, each additional sampling section including a respective needle, piston, chamber, and propellant.

17. A method comprising:
mounting a system to skin, wherein the system comprises:
a needle;
a chamber, wherein the needle is disposed at least partially within the chamber;
a propellant disposed within the chamber;
a piston disposed within the chamber, wherein the needle is coupled to the piston, wherein the piston is configured to slidably move within the chamber, wherein the piston includes a vent configured to allow gases produced by ignition of the propellant to vent through the piston; and

igniting the propellant to slidably move the piston within the chamber to drive the needle into skin to form a puncture in the skin.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the system further comprises:
a suction source; and
a seal, wherein the seal is coupled to the suction source such that the seal receives suction provided by the suction source, wherein igniting the propellant to slidably move the piston within the chamber to drive the needle into skin further comprises driving the needle through the seal to form a hole in the seal when the seal is receiving suction provided by the suction source, and wherein the suction provided by the suction source is sufficient to draw blood from the formed puncture in the skin through the formed hole in the seal.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the system further comprises a sensor, wherein the suction provided by the suction source is sufficient to draw blood through the formed hole in the seal to the sensor, and further comprising:
operating the sensor to detect a property of blood to which the sensor is exposed.

20. The method of claim 17 , wherein the system further comprises a blood storage element, wherein the suction provided by the suction source is sufficient to draw blood through the formed hole in the seal to the blood storage element, wherein the blood storage element is configured to store blood drawn by the suction source to the blood storage element, and further comprising:
providing the blood stored by the blood storage element to a sensing device; and
operating the sensing device to detect a property of the blood provided to the sensing device.

Assignees

• Verily Life Sciences Llc

Inventors

• Krasnow Benjamin David
• Peeters Eric
• Smith Peter Howard

Classifications

• A61B5/150358

  Strips for collecting blood, e.g. absorbent · CPC title

• A61B5/1411 Primary

  by percutaneous method, e.g. by lancet · CPC title

• A61B5/150977

  Arrays of piercing elements for simultaneous piercing · CPC title

• A61B5/15109

  Fully automatically triggered, i.e. the triggering does not require a deliberate action by the user, e.g. by contact with the patient's skin · CPC title

• A61B5/1513

  comprising linear sliding guides (comprising tooth-shaped elements A61B5/15132) · CPC title