A medical needle comprising a flat puncturing part having front and back surfaces that are parallel to each other, wherein the puncturing part comprises a pair of side-surface inclined parts and provided at tips of respective side surfaces and a front-surface inclined part provided at a tip of the front surface, the pair of side-surface inclined parts and the front-surface inclined part each extend in an inclined manner relative to a puncturing direction so as to be tapered, and the tip of the front-surface inclined part adjoins a blade edge part formed by adjoining the tips of the pair of side-surface inclined parts and a depression is formed in the front surface of the puncturing part so as to partially indent the pair of side-surface inclined parts and the front-surface inclined part.

There is provided an injector having an improvement in a linear launching profile. The injector of the present invention is used for launching a lancet to provide a pricking. The injector of the present invention comprises a plunger capable of launching the lancet in a pricking direction, an injector housing which surrounds the plunger, and an injector cap capable of being attached and detached with respect to the injector housing. In particular, an inner face of the injector cap is provided with a rib, and the rib and the plunger moving for the pricking are capable of contacting with each other.

A sampling element (110) for generating a sample of a body fluid is disclosed. The sampling element (110) comprises a housing (114), the housing having a chamber (122) with at least one puncture element (112) stored therein. A tip (132) of the puncture element (112) is movable through at least one puncture opening (124) of the housing (114) in order to perforate a skin portion of a user. The sampling element (110) further comprises at least one compression element (150), which is adapted to increase a pressure of the body fluid within a body tissue of the user in a region of puncturing when pressed onto the skin portion of the user. The compression element (150) is movably mounted to the housing (114). The sampling element (110) comprises at least one locking mechanism (168) for releasably locking the compression element (150) in at least two positions. The at least two positions comprise a first position (170) and a second position (172), the second position (172) being offset from the first position (170). In a further aspect of the invention, an analytical device (204) is disclosed, the analytical device (204) being adapted for using the sampling element (110) of the invention.

Methods and apparatus for blood sampling from skin capillaries are provided. Blood extraction is improved by applying gradient pressure in a proximal to distal direction of an extremity. Blood is extracted and sampled from the skin capillaries with a blood sampling mechanism of at least a lancet and testing kit.

The present invention includes a system for withdrawing body fluids. The system includes a drive unit having a plunger which is moved from a resting position into a lancing position in order to carry out a lancing process and a lancing unit containing a lancet with a needle. The plunger and lancet are coupled together by a form fit in order to carry out a lancing process. The invention additionally concerns a method for temporarily extending a needle from a device for withdrawing body fluid as well as a lancing unit that can be attached to the drive unit.

Embodiments of the present invention provide magnetic lancet devices and methods for driving a lancet. For example, a magnetic lancet device may include a driving mechanism having a plurality of magnets and a lancet coupled to the driving mechanism. A magnetic interaction between the plurality of magnets is configured to drive the lancet from an engaged position to a penetrating position.

A lancing device including a latch that pivots between a non-blocking position allowing a lancet carrier and a lancet to advance and retract through a first forward and reverse lancing stroke and a blocking position preventing further/excess/secondary oscillation of the lancet carrier and lancet. The pivotal latch can pivot about an axis perpendicular (e.g., for an L-shaped latch) or parallel/coaxial (e.g., for a sleeve latch) to the advancement and retraction motion of the lancet carrier and lancet.

Disclosed is a replaceable blood lancet device in which a needle unit including a needle carrier and a front slider is used as inserted in a tubular barrel, and the used needle unit or needle carrier is replaced after use. The replaceable blood lancet device minimizes waste of resources by reducing the parts to be discarded in reuse. In addition, the front slider inserted in the barrel is easily loaded and unloaded through the withdrawal grip portion provided in the front slider. Further, an action spring for elastically pushing the needle carrier in a frontward direction, and a rear end cap for supporting the actuation spring to be compressed to generate an elastic force are provided, so that the blood lancet device can perform blood collection based on the elastic force of the spring.

A lancing device having a housing with a proximal end, a distal end and a longitudinal axis. The lancing device also has a lancet carrier translationally supported with respect to the housing. The lancet carrier has a proximal end and a distal end. The lancing device additionally has a charging mechanism and/or an ejection mechanism adapted to pivot into the lancing device for engaging portions of the lancet carrier to perform the same.

A point-of-care diagnostic system that includes a cartridge and a reader. The cartridge can contain a patient sample, such as a blood sample. The cartridge is inserted into the reader and the patient sample is analyzed. The reader contains various analysis systems, such as an electrophoresis detection system that uses electrophoresis testing to identify and quantify various components of the blood sample. The reader can process data from the various patient sample analysis to provide interpretative results indicative of a disorder, condition, disease and/or infection of the patient.