When inserting a long structure into an object, such as a needle into the tissue of a patient, it is often necessary to know how deep the penetration is. Penetration past the required depth for a desired result wastes effort and causes undue discomfort to the patient. Often the information is needed in a short time because further penetration may cause unnecessary damage to the object and it is desirable to stop the penetration once a predetermined depth is reached. For example, the analysis and quantification of blood components is an important diagnostic tool for better understanding the physical condition of a patient and blood samples need to be obtained by inflicting a wound by a needle or lancet. Inserting the needle or lancet to a depth deeper than necessary produces excessive pain and trauma to the skin tissue. In patients such as diabetics, who have to sample blood often, any excessive pain or tissue trauma is a disincentive to comply with the blood sampling routine.
The skin is consisted of two layers—the epidermis and the dermis. The capillary structures connected to the arterial and venous vascular beds rise vertically and are located in the dermis layer. The neural sensors such as Meissner's corpuscles and free nerve endings are also located in the dermis. Layers of subcutaneous tissues lie below the dermis. The supply arterial and venous capillaries are located laterally in this tissue bed. There is also adipose tissue interleaved with afferent and efferent nerve fibers along with their associated sensors interwoven within the vascular bed. The thicknesses of these tissue layers differ from individual to individual. Currently, commercially available needle or lancet for puncturing skin have preset penetration depth based on experimental data from lancing, Thus, there is no certainty that the optimal depth of penetration is reached every time such a needle or lancet is used. To avoid unsuccessful blood sampling due to inadequate depth, a patient often overpenetrates the skin, causing unnecessary pain.
What is needed is a needle or lancet for sampling blood that can be used for inserting to the optimal depth without over or under penetration. Similarly, there is a need in other penetration applications for inserting a long shaft into an object without over or under penetration.
In the present invention, the depth of penetration of an elongated structure into an object is determined by an impedance sensor that senses the impedance of the material penetrated by the elongated structure at the tip of the elongated structure.
In one aspect, the present invention provides an apparatus having a shaft for penetration into an object which has impedance that varies according to the depth under a surface of the object. The apparatus contains a shaft that includes a shaft body having a tip for penetration and two conductive ends near the tip. The two conductive ends are near the tip such that a change of impedance of the material of the object sensed between the conductive ends will provide information on whether the desired depth of penetration has been reached.
This invention is especially applicable in obtaining blood from a patient by puncturing the skin because a shaft of the present invention takes advantage of the electrical impedance differences between deeper layers of skin tissue relative to the more shallow upper layer. The impedance can be monitored by, for example, a metallic needle that pierces the layers of skin tissue. When the needle initially penetrates into the outer epidermis and dermis layers of the skin, an initial high impedance is seen. A decline in the impedance is observed as the needle approaches the adipose layer.
Using the apparatus, including the shaft of the present invention, optimal penetration into an object that has electrical impedance which varies with penetration depth can be achieved. In the case of obtaining blood from a patient by inserting a needle into the skin, this can minimize the trauma and pain of overpenetration, as well as avoid the frustration and pain of unsuccessful blood sampling because of inadequate penetration. Such reduction of discomfort and tissue damage can significantly improve the compliance of patients with a blood sampling routine, for example.
The following figures are included to better illustrate the embodiments of the apparatus and technique of the present invention. In these figures, like numerals represent like features in the several views.
In one aspect, the present invention provides a technique for sensing the depth of penetration when inserting a shaft into a body. As used herein, the term “shaft” refers to an object with a generally elongated body with a tip for penetrating the body of interest. The body of the shaft, depending on the application, can be rigid or somewhat flexible. Preferably, the tip has a relative sharp point or beveled lancet to facilitate penetration. The point is adequate sharp such that the shaft can be pushed into the body without the need for passing along a preexisting hole. The body of the shaft can have a cross section that is round or non-round (e.g., having a rectangular cross section). As an example, a needle-sized shaft suitable for hypodermic insertion is described in the following embodiments. It is to be understood that other non-hypodermic shafts, including shafts for non-medical purposes, can be made and used according to the present invention.
Needles and Lancets
For illustration,
Furthermore, if desired, a chamber or reservoir can be connected to the lumen 118 for collection of the fluid that may conduct through the lumen. This chamber or reservoir can be a nonconductive bag, a syringe, other tubings connected to the lumen, and the like.
Such a hypodermic needle can be made by, for example, electroplating a polyimide tubing to deposit the electrically conductive coating on the polyimide tubing and inserting, for example, a tungsten wire into the polyimide tubing and affixing an end of the wire to the distal end of the hypodermic needle with a silver epoxy. The distal end can be sharpened after all the conductive materials are in place. The proximal end of the electrically conductive wire 120 and the proximal end of the electrically conductive coating 122 can be connected to the impedance sensor 104 in the apparatus 100, or other similar equipment for sensing the penetration depth of the hypodermic needle 110. Other suitable materials for making the electrically conductive coating include, for example, silver, nickel, platinum, titanium, and tungsten. Materials suitable for making the electrically conductive wire include, for example, silver, nickel, platinum, titanium, gold, copper, aluminum, and tungsten.
In another embodiment, as shown in
To further stiffen a needle shaft for penetration, the needle having conductors leading to the distal end can be further coated with a material that provides additional rigidity. Many hard materials, such as metals or alloys are known in the art. An example of a material suitable for providing such additional rigidity is titanium nitride.
Mechanisms for Driving the Shaft
A wide variety of drivers can be used to drive the shaft (including needles, lancets, blades) of the present invention. Such drivers can be electrically controlled such that when the desired depth has been achieved, the driver can be stopped, preferably, automatically. In this way, the depth of penetration can be optimized so that minimal penetration is used to achieve the desired result, such as drawing blood from a patient with the infliction of a minimal amount of pain and wound size. Examples of mechanisms that can be used for the driver include pneumatic, electromechanical, and piezoelectric mechanisms.
The present invention can also find application in which the shaft advances in a sawing action, as that described in a copending application (Attorney Docket Number 10971004-1, Inventors: Ganapati Mauze, et al., entitled “APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR INCISING”) submitted on the same day and assigned to the same assignee as the present application. Said copending application is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein. An example of such all apparatus has an elongated structure for conducting blood with an outer tube and an inner tube. The tubes associated with each other in concentric, close proximity with low friction between them so that one can slide on the other freely. The distal ends of the tubes each has a circular sharp cutting edge. The tubes are driven to move longitudinally reciprocatively such that alternately the sharp ring-shaped end of the outer tube is more distal than the end of the inner tube and the sharp ring-shaped end of the inner tube is more distal than the end of the outer tube. In this way, the elongated structure can penetrate the tissue by a sawing action by the two tubes.
The driving mechanism for driving the shaft (e.g., needle, lancet, and the like) of the present invention can be controlled by feedback electronics circuits that inhibit further shaft penetration once a proper depth of fluid material has been sensed. Typically, such a control system would be placed in the processor shown in
To use the apparatus of the present for the optimal benefit, preferably, the change in impedance with the depth of penetration is determined experimentally. After a few times of sampling, the apparatus can be adjusted to set the depth of insertion in relation to impedance changes to fit the particular preferences (e.g., penetration depth and sample volume) of that individual. Another way would be to obtain impedance data versus depth specifically for an individual patient and, after taking data from a plurality of blood samples, use the resultant data for setting the depth of penetration for future blood samples.
Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described and illustrated in detail, it is to be understood that a person skilled in the art can make modifications within the scope of the invention. For example, it is understood that the present invention can be applied in a wide variety of medical or nonmedical areas, e.g., drilling in the ground for water, gas, petroleum, etc.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/050,853 entitled “Apparatus and Method for Penetration with Shaft having a Sensor for Sensing Penetration Depth”, filed Mar. 30, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,391,005 which is incorporated herein by reference.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20020042594 A1 | Apr 2002 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 09050853 | Mar 1998 | US |
Child | 10008159 | US |