The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 09, 2003
Filed:
Apr. 30, 2001
Paul Lum, Los Altos, CA (US);
Michael Greenstein, Los Altos, CA (US);
Leslie A. Leonard, Portoa Valley, CA (US);
Dominique M Freeman, Pescadero, CA (US);
Agilent Technologies, Inc., Palo Alto, CA (US);
Abstract
A device for puncturing the skin of a patient. The device includes first and second protrusions, each protrusion puncturing the skin when pressed against the skin. The first and second protrusions are arranged such that the first protrusion punctures the skin at a location less than a predetermined distance from the second protrusion. The distance is chosen to be less than the discriminatable distance between distinct pain perception points in the patient, such that the patient perceives a single puncture when the first and second protrusions puncture the skin. In one embodiment of the invention, the device includes a base lip that applies a lateral force to the skin when the base lip is pressed against the skin. In this embodiment, the protrusions are pressed into the skin as the base lip is pressed against the skin.