Retractable blood collection devices and methods

A blood collection device comprising:

• a housing;
• a plunger slideably mounted within the housing, sidewalls of the plunger defining a retraction lumen within the plunger;
• a needle seal frictionally engaged within the retraction lumen at a distal end of the plunger, the needle seal having a sealing engagement structure on a distal side thereof;
• a needle initially secured at a distal portion of the housing;
• a needle support structure frictionally engaged in the distal portion of the housing for initially securing the needle in place, a first portion of the needle support structure being moveable in a distal direction in response to application of an activation force against the plunger by a user, a second portion of the needle support structure being shaped and configured to engage with the sealing engagement structure of the needle seal upon the application of the activation force against the plunger by the user to provide a needle retraction assembly including the needle;
• a propellant chamber positioned in the housing distally of the needle support structure;
• rupturing spikes provided proximally of the propellant chamber and distally of the needle support structure, the rupturing spikes being moveable to rupture the propellant chamber upon the application of the activation force against the plunger by the user;
• and
• a blood collection outlet for passing blood flowing through the needle to a blood collection reservoir;
• a blood flow path being provided through the needle and past the plunger to the blood collection outlet when the blood collection device is in its initial configuration, whereby the application of the activation force against the plunger by the user moves the plunger distally within the housing to engage the needle seal with the second portion of the needle support structure to form the needle retraction assembly and causes the first portion of the needle support structure to move distally within the housing to cause the rupturing spikes to release propellant from the propellant chamber, so that the released propellant retracts the needle retraction assembly and the needle within the retraction lumen.

A blood collection device comprising:

• a housing having a pair of opposed wings extending radially outwardly from the housing and a pair of axially extending slots formed through the housing, an inner surface of the wings comprising a first angled sliding surface;
• a plunger axially moveable within the housing, the plunger having a retraction lumen therein, and the plunger having a pair of radially outwardly extending projections, each one of the projections extending through a corresponding one of the pair of axially extending slots formed through the housing, a proximal portion of each one of the projections comprising a second angled sliding surface;
• the first and second sliding surfaces being positioned and configured so that radially inward movement of the pair of opposed wings is translated to movement of the plunger in a distal direction;
• a blood collection tubing outlet defining a fluid flow path for blood to exit through the housing;
• a needle support seal sealingly engaged with an inner surface of the housing distally of the blood collection tubing outlet;
• a needle hub initially in sealing engagement with the needle support seal and being restrained against movement in the distal direction;
• a needle coupled to the needle hub and extending from the distal end of the housing;
• a needle seal positioned at a distal portion of the retraction lumen of the plunger;
• a plunger seal positioned at a distal end of the plunger;
• a propellant chamber positioned distally of the needle support seal;
• and
• spikes for rupturing the propellant chamber provided distally of the needle support seal, so that movement of the needle support seal in a distal direction will cause the propellant chamber to rupture;
• a fluid path for collecting blood from a subject being defined from the needle and past the plunger to the blood collection tubing outlet when the blood collection device is in an initial unactivated configuration;
• and
• the plunger being moveable in a distal direction when a user applies a radially inward force to the pair of wings to:
• cause the plunger seal to seal the blood collection tubing outlet;
• cause the needle seal to sealingly engage in snap-fit engagement with the needle hub to form a needle retraction assembly comprising the needle seal, the needle hub and the needle;
• move the needle support seal in a distal direction, thereby releasing the needle hub from the needle support seal and causing the spikes to rupture the propellant chamber to release propellant to retract the needle retraction assembly.