MAT602

Single Use Lancing Devices

Professor Andrew Lewis
RAEng Visiting Professor, February 2023
Single Use Lancing Devices
• Lancing devices are used to obtain blood samples for various tests, such as
blood sugar levels for diabetics
• The most convenient format of these devices for the user are those that are
single use lancing devices (SULD), which are discarded after one use
• Many different types of SULD are available but they all generally consist of a
spring-powered needle, housed in a plastic body with a trigger mechanism to
release the needle once the SULD is in place on the finger
• As different blood tests may require different volumes of blood, the needle can
be of different gauges or its penetration depth varied to dictate the wound size
and hence blood volume collected
• These devices need to be safe, as painless as possible, easy to use and cheap to
produce
Different types and makes of SULD:

Unistik 3 Comfort Unistik Pro Unistik 3 Touch BD Microtainer

(side fire) (top fire) (contact activated)

Accuchek Safe-T Pro Plus Medline Single Let Prodigy Diabetes Care Acti-Lance Universal
 Example of typical materials used in SULD construction Over-mould

The needle is completely covered with a

Trigger
polymer over-mould which is pulled apart
at a narrowing to expose the needle tip
Needle exit
Needle cover Needle

Trigger Needle cover

(Polypropylene)
Needle
SULD Body
(activated)
(High Impact Polystyrene)
Spring in
primed position
(Stainless Steel) Needle
stainless steel
Spring in
activated
position
Examples of how an SULD works and how it is used

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bu-5xY5tP98

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5Rnjo7mNsc
Your Challenge
• You are an engineer in a company that manufactures millions of
SULDs per day
• You and your Team are tasked with looking at how you might be able
to improve the “sustainability” of this device with a focus on the
materials and processes by which it is manufactured. Compare your
proposed approach to those products already available on-market
• You do not necessarily need to be constrained by the existing
methods of manufacture (e.g. injection moulding of the plastic
components) but any new process will require significant investment
in new equipment which must be factored into consideration
Considerations
• This is a medical device and needs to be safe
• The device may carry a mechanical load and hence the materials need to be
up to the job
• Consider the lifecycle of the product from raw material selection, how it’s
processed, how it’s manufactured into the device, how the device is used
and its end of life
• Remember the 3 Ps at the core of a sustainable strategy (People, Profit,
Planet): Consider the costs- exotic materials may have interesting properties
but could make the cost of goods too expensive for a commodity device
• Your company will be making millions of these devices a day, so they need
to be able to be assembled quickly and simply. The design will be key to this
but also think about materials and process impact