Multiple segment encapsulated medical lancing device

A self-actuating and automatically retracting lancing device for uses comprising pricking a fingertip and other percutaneous puncture sites of a medical patient, said device comprising:

• a lancet housing comprising torsion spring restraining means, torsion spring releasing means, and lancet guide means;
• precocked torsion spring means;
• lancet means comprising sharpened lancet tip and;
• in combination, said housing, spring means and lancet means comprising means for translating rotary motion of said torsion spring means to a desired linear motion for said lancet means through a period while the torsion spring means undergo spring unwinding.

A combination comprising a plurality of lancing devices, a housing for joining said plurality of lancing devices into a single lancet strip and a carrier for the housing, said combination comprising:

• the housing which comprises:
• means for serially interconnecting a plurality of said lancing devices;
• means for sealing and maintaining said lancing devices in a sterile condition until opened for use;
• at least one means for separating portions of the housing by which said lancing devices can be opened for use and separated from the rest of the housing for disposal after use;
• opposing ends of said housing which aid in maintaining a sealed sterile environment for the lancing devices and at least one of said ends which must be separated from the rest of the housing before a first lancing device can be used;
• each of said lancing devices comprising a lancing part, precocked torsion spring means, means for translating rotary motion of said spring means to desired linear motion of said lancet part, means for discharging said torsion spring means which, when released, dynamically and forcefully fire the lancet outward from the housing by positive spring force and likewise retract the lancet part into the housing for safe disposal while the precocked torsion spring means is releasing energy which has been previously stored in a precocking phase;
• the carrier comprising:
• means for transporting and containing the housing;
• means for precisely positioning said housing and firmly holding the housing during lancing;
• means for actuating the torsion spring discharging means to trigger and thereby fire the lancing part.

A method for utilizing a lancet instrument for multiple self-actuating and automatically retracting lancing devices whereby the lancing devices may be individually and sequentially used comprising the following steps:

• providing said lancet instrument comprising a housing for a plurality of said lancing devices and means for frangibly separating the lancing devices which are maintained by the housing in sterile condition before being opened for use, said housing comprising notches to be used with a lancing device positioning means;
• providing a carrier, to enclose and hold said housing, comprising:
• a housing positioning means to position and hold said housing within the carrier such that, prior to use, each lancing device can be firmly held against a puncture site;
• and
• triggering means to fire the lancet;
• inserting the lancet housing through the carrier until the detent means catches and positions the housing with a frangibly separable segment fully exposed;
• breaking away the frangible separation means to open one aseptic lancing device for use;
• placing the lancing device against the puncture site and activating the triggering means whereupon the puncture site is lanced by release of energy previously stored in a spring, the lancing occurring while the energy is being released, the energy release causing spring motion in a single direction which forces egress/ingress action of said lancing device, said lancet tip being safely restored into the lancing device by constraining spring motion in the same direction.

A method of obtaining a droplet of blood sample from a medical patient comprising the steps of:

• providing a percutaneous piercing element enclosed within enveloping means comprising an egress/ingress port;
• placing the egress/ingress port of the enveloping means at a puncture site of a medical patient;
• manually actuating exposed actuator means causing an associated biasing element to be nonlinearly, but unidirectionally displaced;
• converting the unidirectional displacement into a first substantially linear displacement of the finger piercing element outward through the egress/ingress port and into the puncture site and thereafter a second opposite substantially linear displacement of the percutaneous piercing element to retract the element entirely within the enveloping means through the egress/ingress port.