Single-use lancet and capillary loading mechanism for complete blood count point of care device

Abstract

As part of the development of a point of care complete blood count device, I designed a single use lancet integrated with a blood collection mechanism and interface and successfully tested a prototype. High speed video was taken of lancet motion at 50,000 frames per second, and lancet velocities were found to be -11 m/s as compared to ~3m/s for a commonly used lancet. As faster lancet velocity reduces pain, this device will be less painful than comparable devices on the market. Work with an industrial design consultant has begun, and the lancet prototype will be modified for production. I built a prototype of the blood collection mechanism and integrated it with the single-use lancet into a single device. Additionally, I designed the loading mechanism to interface collected blood with the machine. Several concepts were considered, and the best concept was selected and prototyped. The loading mechanism was tested to ensure proper mixing between collected blood and reagents required for the complete blood count.