# US 11,992,240 B2 · Puncture system > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,992,240 B2 - Document ID: US11992240B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/110,747 - Filed: 2020-12-03 - Published: 2021-03-25 - Granted: 2024-05-28 - Earliest claimed: 2018-06-06 - Assignees: Terumo Kabushiki Kaisha - Applicants: Terumo Kabushiki Kaisha - Inventors: Ryosuke Ueda; Takashi Kumazawa; Ryosuke Maeda; Toshiaki Shinohara; Masaaki Watanabe; Yuusuke Uchida - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11992240B2 ## CPC - A61B 17/3403: {Needle locating or guiding means} - A61B 8/00: Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves - A61B 34/10: Computer-aided planning, simulation or modelling of surgical operations - A61B 34/32: operating autonomously - A61B 90/361: {Image-producing devices, e.g. surgical cameras} - A61M 5/42: having means for desensitising skin, for protruding skin to facilitate piercing, or for locating point where body is to be pierced - A61B 2034/2059: {Mechanical position encoders} - A61B 2034/2065: {Tracking using image or pattern recognition} - A61B 2034/303: {specifically adapted for manipulations within body lumens, e.g. within lumen of gut, spine, or blood vessels} - A61B 2090/378: {using ultrasound} - A61B 2090/3937: {Visible markers} - A61M 25/0113: {Mechanical advancing means, e.g. catheter dispensers} - A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D) - A61M: DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY (introducing media into or onto the bodies of animals A61D7/00; means for inserting tampons A61F13/26; devices for administering food or medicines orally A61J; containers for collecting, storing or administering blood or medical fluids A61J1/05); DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY (surgery A61B; chemical aspects of surgical articles A61L); DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR {(Electrotherapy, e.g. producing anaesthesia by the use of alternating or intermittent currents A61N1/36021)} ## Abstract A puncture system that is configured to automatically puncture a radial artery of a hand of a patient includes: a grip to be gripped by the hand; a blood vessel detection unit that detects a position of an artery of the hand that grips the grip; an adjustment mechanism that adjusts a relative posture of the grip and a puncture needle a forward mechanism to move the puncture needle forward toward the grip; and a control unit that determines, in accordance with the position of the artery detected by the blood vessel detection unit, a relative posture of the grip and the puncture needle and a forward distance of the puncture needle, and controls operations of the adjustment mechanism and the forward mechanism on the basis of the posture and the forward distance having been determined. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A puncture system configured to automatically puncture a blood vessel of a hand of a patient by a puncture needle, the puncture system comprising: a grip to be gripped by the hand of the patient; a blood vessel detection unit configured to detect a position of the blood vessel of the hand of the patient that grips the grip; an adjustment mechanism configured to adjust a relative posture of the grip and the puncture needle; a forward mechanism configured to move the puncture needle forward toward the grip; and a control unit that determines, in accordance with the position of the blood vessel detected by the blood vessel detection unit, the relative posture of the grip and the puncture needle and a forward movement distance to move the puncture needle, and controls operations of the adjustment mechanism and the forward mechanism based on the posture of the grip and the forward movement distance determined by the control unit. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The puncture system according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment mechanism includes a grip actuator connected to the grip and configured to adjust a posture of the grip. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The puncture system according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment mechanism includes a puncture actuator configured to adjust a posture of the puncture needle. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The puncture system according to claim 3, wherein the blood vessel detection unit simultaneously detects the position of the blood vessel and the position of the puncture needle, and the puncture actuator adjusts the posture of the puncture needle in accordance with the position of the blood vessel and the position of the puncture needle detected by the blood vessel detection unit. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The puncture system according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment mechanism includes a grip actuator configured to adjust a position and a posture of the grip, and a puncture actuator configured to adjust a position and a posture of the puncture needle, and the control unit acquires data on the position and the posture of the grip, and also acquires data on the position and the posture of the puncture needle. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The puncture system according to claim 1, further comprising a reversed blood detection unit configured to detect reversed blood flow into the puncture needle. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The puncture system according to claim 1, further comprising a marker detection unit configured to detect a position of a marker indicating an intended puncture region of the hand, the blood vessel detection unit being configured to detect the blood vessel in the intended puncture region. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The puncture system according to claim 1, further comprising a detection actuator configured to adjust a position and a posture of the blood vessel detection unit. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The puncture system according to claim 1, wherein the grip includes a hole portion into which a thumb of the hand is insertable, and further comprising a thumb detection unit that detects contact of the thumb with the thumb detection unit, the thumb detection unit being positioned in the hole portion. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The puncture system according to claim 1, further comprising a restrainer configured to be worn on a wrist of the patent to suppress motion of the wrist. ### Claim 11 A puncture system configured to automatically puncture a blood vessel in a hand of a patient with a puncture needle, the patient's hand including fingers and a thumb, the puncture system comprising: a grip to be gripped by the hand of the patient, the grip including a hole sized to receive the thumb of the patient's hand or at least one of the fingers of the patent's hand; a grip actuator that holds the grip and adjusts a posture of the grip; a puncture needle holder configured to hold the puncture needle and move the puncture needle toward and away from the grip; a puncture needle actuator operatively connected to the puncture needle holder to adjust a posture of the puncture needle; a blood vessel detection unit that detects a position of the blood vessel of the hand of the patient that grips the grip; and a control unit that determines, in accordance with the position of the blood vessel detected by the blood vessel detection unit and a relative posture of the grip and the puncture needle, a forward movement distance to move the puncture needle to puncture the blood vessel in the hand of the patient, and controls operations of the puncture needle holder based on the forward movement distance determined by the control unit. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The puncture system according to claim 11, wherein the grip actuator comprises a multi-degree-of-freedom robot arm. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The puncture system according to claim 11, wherein the puncture needle holder comprises a multi-degree-of-freedom robot arm. ### Claim 14 (depends on 11) The puncture system according to claim 11, further comprising a reversed blood detection unit configured to detecting blood flowing into the puncture needle when the blood vessel has been punctured by the puncture needle. ### Claim 15 (depends on 11) The puncture system according to claim 11, further comprising a detection unit that detects contact of the thumb or the one of the fingers with the detection unit, the detection unit being positioned in the hole portion in the grip. ### Claim 16 A method of automatically puncturing a blood vessel in a hand of a patient with a puncture needle, the method comprising: detecting a position of a blood vessel in a hand of a patient while the hand of the patient is gripping a grip; determining a relative posture of the grip and the puncture needle, and a forward movement distance to move the puncture needle, using the detected position of the blood vessel; changing the posture of the grip and/or the puncture needle so that the relative posture of the grip and the puncture needle is the determined relative posture of the grip and the puncture needle; and moving the puncture needle the forward movement distance to puncture the blood vessel. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The method according to claim 16, wherein the gripping of the grip includes positioning a thumb of the patient's hand or at least one finger of the patent's hand in a hole in the grip. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The method according to claim 17, wherein the determining of the relative posture of the grip is performed only if a detection unit positioned in the hole of the grip detects the thumb of the patient's hand or the at least one finger of the patient's hand. ### Claim 19 (depends on 16) The method according to claim 16, further comprising, after moving the puncture needle the forward movement distance, detecting whether blood is flowing into the puncture needle, and moving the puncture needle away from the patient's hand when blood is not detected as flowing into the puncture needle.