Patent Description:
It is important to have regular medical checkups in order to live a healthy life. One of tests commonly and frequently performed in medical checkups is a blood test for diagnosing states of tissues and organs of the whole body by collecting blood from a subject and analyzing components of the blood. A general blood test is often performed in a medical institution, but is often performed at home as a self-test with a limited measurement item such as a blood glucose level.

A blood collection method that is often performed as blood collection for a self-test, such as blood glucose level measurement, is capillary blood collection. The capillary blood collection is a method of pressing a dedicated skin puncture tool against a finger of a subject to puncture a capillary of the finger and collecting blood that flows out. The capillary blood collection is a simpler blood collection method than venous blood collection. However, the amount of blood that can be secured is small, and thus, complicated work such as compressing and squeezing the finger during blood collection is required to secure the blood collection amount.

PTL <NUM> discloses a blood collection apparatus that automates blood collection from a finger. The blood collection apparatus includes: a cartridge that holds a puncture tool, a blood collection tube, and an adhesive bandage; a driving mechanism for changing a position of the cartridge and performing an operation of pressing the puncture tool, a container, and a seal against a finger tip; a fixing mechanism for fixing a part of the finger tip; and a compression mechanism for compressing a root of the finger, and pierces the finger tip of a subject with the puncture tool after compressing the root of the finger, collects blood from a puncture wound into the blood collection tube, and the compression is released, and then staunches bleeding from the puncture wound with the adhesive bandage.

PTL <NUM> proposes a blood collecting device provided with: a cartridge which holds a perforator, a blood collecting tube and an adhesive plaster; a drive mechanism for varying the position of the cartridge and carrying out an operation to push the perforator, a container and a seal against the fingertip; a securing mechanism for securing part of the fingertip; and a compressing mechanism for compressing the root of the finger; wherein the fingertip of the subject is perforated using the perforator after the root of the finger has been compressed, blood is collected in the blood collecting tube from a puncture mark, and the adhesive plaster is applied to the puncture mark after the compression has been released, to stop the flow of blood.

PTL <NUM> proposes a blood collecting device provided with a detecting unit which detects a state of a part of a living body to be punctured, and a control unit which controls a blood collecting operation with respect to the part to be punctured, on the basis of the detection result from the detecting unit.

The blood collection apparatus described in PTL <NUM> is advantageous in that the blood collection subject can perform blood collection from the finger tip without complicated work. However, there is an individual difference in the diathesis of the blood collection subject according to studies of the present inventors, and there is a possibility that it is difficult to perform stable blood collection and a sufficient blood collection amount is hardly secured even in the blood collection apparatus described in PTL <NUM>.

An object of the present invention is to provide a blood collection apparatus with which blood can be stably collected from a finger tip of any subject while ensuring safety and ease.

In order to achieve the above object, there is provided a blood collection apparatus according to claim <NUM>.

According to the blood collection apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to stably collect the blood from the finger tip of any subject while ensuring the safety and ease.

Other objects, configurations, and effects which have not been described above become apparent from embodiments to be described hereinafter.

First, circumstances leading to the present invention will be described.

Since blood collection from a subject is essential to perform a blood test, it is preferable that anyone can easily and safely collect blood. Therefore, the present inventors have studied various automatic blood collection methods and systems, and have proposed a blood collection apparatus described in PTL <NUM>. With the blood collection apparatus described in PTL <NUM>, anyone can easily and safely collect blood. According to the studies of the present inventors, however, it has been found that blood is coagulated in a puncture wound and it becomes difficult to perform stable blood collection, for example, when the amount of blood flowing out from the puncture wound is small and a state in which the blood remains on a finger tip is prolonged even if compression and release are repeated depending on the diathesis of a subject or the like. Therefore, a blood collection apparatus having a function of actively promoting bleeding from a finger tip is required in order to constantly realize stable blood collection for any subject. As a result of various studies, the present inventors have found that the blood remaining on the finger tip when the blood collection tube is separated from the finger tip is separated from the finger tip to promote movement of the blood toward the blood collection tube by repeatedly changing a relative distance between the blood collection tube and the finger tip in addition to compression and release of a finger so that the blood coagulation at the puncture wound is suppressed. Since the blood coagulation at the puncture wound is suppressed, the stable blood collection can be realized by repeating the compression and release of the finger.

Next, a basic configuration of a blood collection apparatus <NUM> according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to <FIG> and <FIG>.

<FIG> is a basic configuration diagram of the blood collection apparatus <NUM>, and <FIG> is an internal configuration diagram of the blood collection apparatus <NUM> from which a case <NUM> is removed. The blood collection apparatus <NUM> includes: a cartridge <NUM> including a puncture tool <NUM>, a blood-count blood collection tube <NUM>, a biochemical and immunological blood collection tube <NUM>, a gauze <NUM>, and an adhesive bandage <NUM>; a driving mechanism <NUM> for controlling movement of the cartridge <NUM>; a cuff mechanism finger fixing unit <NUM> including a cuff mechanism <NUM> for tightening a periphery of a finger (puncture site; not illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>) of a subject; a pressure adjustment mechanism <NUM> for adjusting the pressure of the cuff mechanism <NUM>; a control mechanism <NUM> for controlling operations of the driving mechanism <NUM> and the pressure adjustment mechanism <NUM>; cameras <NUM> and <NUM> configured for image measurement of a finger tip position and the amount of collected blood; and an input/output device (not illustrated) configured to take images of the cameras, input an instruction content to the control mechanism <NUM>, and display an output result from the control mechanism <NUM>. As the input/output device, a personal computer or a tablet PC connected to the blood collection apparatus <NUM> can be used.

The driving mechanism <NUM> includes a rotational-direction driving mechanism <NUM> and a vertical-direction driving mechanism <NUM>. The rotational-direction driving mechanism <NUM> rotates the cartridge <NUM> in a cartridge container <NUM> (with a z-axis as a rotation axis) through a cartridge holder <NUM> in which the cartridge <NUM> is set, and rotationally moves the cartridge <NUM> such that the puncture tool <NUM>, the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM>, the biochemical and immunological blood collection tube <NUM>, the gauze <NUM>, or the adhesive bandage (seal) <NUM> is arranged immediately below a blood collection window <NUM> of a finger placement portion <NUM> on which a finger to be subjected to blood collection is placed. The rotational-direction driving mechanism <NUM> also serves as a horizontal-direction driving mechanism for changing a relative position between the blood collection window <NUM> of the finger placement portion <NUM>, and the puncture tool, the blood collection tube, the gauze, or the adhesive bandage on a horizontal plane. The vertical-direction driving mechanism <NUM> includes a push rod <NUM>, and moves the puncture tool <NUM>, the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM>, the biochemical and immunological blood collection tube <NUM>, the gauze <NUM>, or the adhesive bandage <NUM> arranged immediately below the blood collection window <NUM> in the vertical direction (z direction) through the push rod <NUM> to be brought close to or be pressed against a finger. The puncture tool <NUM> is pressed against a finger to puncture a finger <NUM>, the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM> or the biochemical and immunological blood collection tube <NUM> is brought close to the finger to collect blood from a puncture point without scattering the blood to the surroundings, the gauze <NUM> is pressed against the finger to wipe off excess blood, and the adhesive bandage <NUM> is pressed against the finger so that bleeding from the puncture point can be staunched. As a power source of the driving mechanism <NUM>, a mechanical power source, such as a spring, may be used in addition to electrical energy such as an external power source and a built-in battery. When the spring is used as the power source, the use in an area where supply of electricity is difficult becomes possible.

The cuff mechanism finger fixing unit <NUM> includes the cuff mechanism <NUM> provided with a cuff configured to tighten a blood collection target finger and the finger placement portion <NUM> configured to place a blood collection target finger tip. The finger placement portion <NUM> further includes a disposable finger placement plate component <NUM> at a point to be in contact with the finger. The finger placement plate component includes the blood collection window <NUM> which is a void for blood collection.

The pressure adjustment mechanism <NUM> includes a cuff internal pressure sensor <NUM> configured to measure the internal pressure of the cuff of the cuff mechanism <NUM>, and a cuff valve <NUM> and a cuff pump <NUM> configured to control the internal pressure of the cuff, and can adjust the tightening pressure of the blood collection target finger by controlling the internal pressure of the cuff.

Note that the cuff mechanism finger fixing unit <NUM> is a configuration example of a puncture site holding mechanism. The cuff mechanism <NUM> and the pressure adjustment mechanism <NUM> are configuration examples of a compression mechanism for performing an operation of compressing and releasing a puncture site at the time of collecting blood from the puncture site. The cartridge <NUM> is a configuration example of a container holding mechanism for holding a container for collecting blood flowing from a puncture wound of the puncture site. The driving mechanism <NUM> is a configuration example of a driving mechanism for varying the relative distance between the puncture site and the container by vertically moving the puncture site holding mechanism, the container holding mechanism, or the container held by the container holding mechanism when blood flowing from the puncture wound is collected.

Next, a configuration of the cartridge <NUM> used by the blood collection apparatus <NUM> according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to <FIG> which is a view of an assembly of the cartridge <NUM>.

The cartridge <NUM> holds a puncture tool holder <NUM> that holds the puncture tool <NUM>, a blood-count blood collection tube holder <NUM> that holds the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM>, a blood collection tube holder <NUM> that holds the biochemical and immunological blood collection tube <NUM> that holds the biochemical and immunological blood collection tube <NUM>, a gauze holder <NUM> that holds the gauze <NUM>, and an adhesive bandage holder <NUM> that holds the adhesive bandage <NUM> in a puncture tool holder holding hole <NUM>, a blood-count blood collection tube holder holding hole <NUM>, a biochemical and immunological blood collection tube holder holding hole <NUM>, a gauze holder holding hole (which is hidden by the blood-count blood collection tube holder <NUM> and thus is not illustrated), and an adhesive bandage holder holding hole <NUM> in a cartridge case <NUM>. Centers of the respective holding holes are located on a circumference of a circle about the rotation axis of the cartridge <NUM>. In addition, each of the holding holes is a through hole, but the puncture tool holder <NUM>, the blood-count blood collection tube holder <NUM>, the biochemical and immunological blood collection tube holder <NUM>, the gauze holder <NUM>, and the adhesive bandage holder <NUM> do not fall from the respective holding holes since a part of each of the puncture tool holder <NUM>, the blood-count blood collection tube holder <NUM>, the biochemical and immunological blood collection tube holder <NUM>, the gauze holder <NUM>, and the adhesive bandage holder <NUM> is larger than each of the holding holes.

Note that the plurality of blood collection tubes are held in the cartridge <NUM> in the present embodiment, so that it is possible to collect blood for different purposes of tests by one-time blood collection. In addition, the present embodiment is configured such that the plurality of blood collection tubes of the cartridge <NUM> can be held on the circumference of the circle about the rotation axis of the cartridge <NUM>, and the plurality of blood collection tubes are arranged at substantially point-symmetric positions about the rotation axis. Thus, for example, there is an effect that another blood collection tube into which blood collection has been completed can be detached during blood collection into one blood collection tube although details will be described later. It is desirable to detach a blood collection tube after blood collection and stir the blood collection tube quickly by inversion and mixing, and thus, it is advantageous that another blood collection tube into which blood collection has been completed can be detached during blood collection into one blood collection tube. These are features that can also be applied to the blood collection apparatus described in PTL <NUM>.

The puncture tool <NUM> is a single-use skin puncture tool including a puncture needle and a holder incorporating the puncture needle. When a tip of the puncture tool <NUM> is pressed against a finger, the puncture needle protrudes at the moment and punctures a skin and capillary blood vessels of the finger. The blood-count blood collection tube <NUM> and the biochemical and immunological blood collection tube <NUM> are containers for collecting blood, and collect blood flowing from a pierced point by pressing mouths of the blood collection tubes against the pierced point of the finger. The blood-count blood collection tube <NUM> is a blood collection tube whose inner surface is coated with an anticoagulant, and has an effect of suppressing a coagulation reaction of blood after blood collection. The biochemical and immunological blood collection tube <NUM> is a blood collection tube incorporating a separation agent, and can separate blood cells and serum based on a difference in specific gravity by applying a centrifugal force after blood collection. The gauze <NUM> is a water-absorbent cloth, and is pressed against the finger to wipe off excess blood from the pierced point of the finger. The adhesive bandage <NUM> is provided with an absorbent pad at a center of an adhesive sheet, and covers the pierced point of the finger. When being set in the adhesive bandage holder <NUM>, the adhesive bandage <NUM> is attached with an adhesive surface facing upward.

<FIG> are flowcharts of a blood collection step of collecting blood from a finger using the blood collection apparatus <NUM> according to the embodiment of the present invention. The flowchart describes figure numbers corresponding to the respective steps. Blood collection by the blood collection apparatus <NUM> is performed in the order of (<NUM>) an operation check process, (<NUM>) a finger setting process, (<NUM>) a puncture process, (<NUM>) a blood collection process, and (<NUM>) a hemostasis process. The blood collection apparatus <NUM> can be operated directly by a subject or by a person other than the subject. The blood collection step of the blood collection apparatus <NUM> will be described along the flowcharts of <FIG>. In the drawings, a block with a thick line frame indicates an operation of an operator, and a block with a thin line frame indicates an operation of the apparatus.

Blood-count blood collection tube and biochemical and immunological blood collection tube.

Compression time by the cuff before and after puncture: Tbefore-puncture, Tafter-puncture,
Cuff pressure at that time: Ppuncture.

The number of repetitions of compression and release of the cuff at time of blood collection in the blood-count blood collection tube: N<NUM>,.

The number of repetitions of compression and release of the cuff at the time of blood collection in the biochemical and immunological blood collection tube: N<NUM>,.

After the finger setting process is completed, the operator gives an instruction to start via the input/output device, so that the blood collection apparatus <NUM> transitions to the puncture process.

After the puncture process is completed, the processing transitions to the blood collection process.

The cartridge <NUM> is rotated by the rotational-direction driving mechanism <NUM> (<FIG>) to move the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM> immediately below the blood collection window <NUM>. Subsequently, the blood-count blood collection tube holder <NUM> is pushed up toward the finger tip of the middle finger <NUM> by the vertical-direction driving mechanism <NUM>, and the mouth of the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM> is brought close to the middle finger <NUM>. When blood flowing from a puncture point of the finger tip touches the mouth of the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM>, the blood enters the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM> due to the wettability of the mouth of the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM>. (b) A method of compressing a finger tip and a method of operating a blood collection tube having an effect of increasing the blood collection amount will be described with reference to <FIG> illustrates temporal changes in the internal pressure of the cuff and the position of the blood-count blood collection tube at the time of blood collection, and positional relationships between the finger tip and the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM> and states of blood from the finger tip at four time points.

The internal pressure of the cuff changes at a cycle of <NUM> sec. including <NUM> sec. (at the time of compression) of <NUM> kPa and <NUM> sec. (at the time of release) of <NUM> kPa. Meanwhile, the blood collection tube also changes in the vertical movement of <NUM> at a cycle of <NUM> sec. The pressure here is a differential pressure from atmospheric pressure.

Although there is little blood flowing from the finger tip immediately after the finger tip is compressed (at a time point of <NUM> sec. ), the blood is collected on the finger tip by compressing the finger tip with the cuff, and the blood flowing from the puncture point forms a droplet on the finger tip (at a time point of <NUM> sec. As the compression with the cuff is continued, the droplet of the blood becomes larger.

Immediately before the end of the cuff compression, the mouth of the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM> is brought close to the finger tip, and the droplet of blood is brought into contact with the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM> (at a time point of <NUM> sec. As a result of the contact, a part of the droplet of blood drops on a bottom of the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM>, and a part of the blood remains between the finger tip and the mouth of the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM>.

After the contact, the finger tip is released from the compression by adjusting the internal pressure of the cuff to <NUM> kPa. This operation opens a blood vessel of the tightened finger, so that blood flows to the finger tip again. Subsequently, the mouth of the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM> is separated from the finger tip. With this operation, the blood accumulated between the finger tip and the mouth of the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM> can be separated toward the mouth of the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM> (at a time point of <NUM> sec. The separated blood moves toward the bottom of the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM> by gravity. In this manner, blood is collected in the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM> by repeating the compression and release of the cuff and the change of the relative distance between the finger tip and the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM>.

Since the compression and release with the cuff are repeated, it is possible to repeat promotion of bleeding from the finger tip and replenishment of blood to the finger tip. In addition, in a case where it is difficult to change the distance between the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM> and the finger tip, the coagulation reaction proceeds in the blood accumulated between the finger tip and the mouth of the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM> so that bleeding from the puncture point is delayed. However, the coagulation reaction at the puncture point can be suppressed by changing the distance between the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM> and the finger tip and removing the blood accumulated between the finger tip and the mouth of the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM> at regular time intervals as in the present embodiment. As a result, the effect of increasing the blood collection amount can be obtained by repeating the compression and release with the cuff and the change of the distance between the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM> and the finger tip. In the present embodiment, the compression and release of the cuff is performed at the cycle of <NUM> sec. including <NUM> sec. and <NUM> sec. , and the vertical movement of the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM> is also performed at the cycle of <NUM> sec. with the amplitude of <NUM>. However, it is preferable to change these conditions depending on a state of a blood collection subject. These conditions are determined based on results of blood collection from subjects in various states. For example, in a case of a subject with thick fingers, conditions are generally set with a shorter cycle than that of a subject with thin fingers. Further, the relative distance between the finger tip and the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM> is changed by moving the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM> in the present embodiment, but a similar effect can be expected even if the relative distance between the finger tip and the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM> is changed by fixing the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM> and moving the finger tip. In addition, a similar effect can be expected even if the cartridge itself is vertically moved to change the relative distance between the finger tip and the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM>. In addition, it is preferable that a repetition timing of the compression and release of the finger tip with the cuff and a repetition timing of the change of the relative distance between the finger tip and the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM> be set such that the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM> is brought close to the finger tip immediately before the end of the compression of the cuff and the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM> is separated from the finger tip after the release of the cuff as illustrated in <FIG>, but the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto. It is important to remove the blood accumulated between the finger tip and the mouth of the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM> at predetermined time intervals, and it is possible to suppress the coagulation of the blood at the puncture point and to expect the increase in the blood collection amount by repeatedly changing the relative distance between the finger tip and the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM> at predetermined time intervals during the blood collection by the compression and release of the cuff.

After the blood collection into the biochemical and immunological blood collection tube <NUM> is completed, the processing transitions to the hemostasis process.

According to the above procedure using the blood collection apparatus <NUM>, the blood is collected into the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM> and the biochemical and immunological blood collection tube <NUM>. Although the blood is collected into the two blood collection tubes (the blood-count blood collection tube and the biochemical and immunological blood collection tube) in the present embodiment, only the blood collection into the blood-count blood collection tube <NUM> or only the blood collection into the biochemical and immunological blood collection tube <NUM> can be also performed according to procedures illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>. <FIG> is a flowchart when only the blood collection into the blood-count blood collection tube is performed, in which the processing transitions to the hemostasis process after the end of the blood collection into the blood-count blood collection tube. <FIG> is a flowchart when only the blood collection into the biochemical and immunological blood collection tube is performed, in which the processing transitions to the blood collection process for the biochemical and immunological blood collection tube after the end of the puncture process.

Next, a preferable movement method of the cartridge <NUM> in blood collection, a preferable shape of a blood collection tube, a method of covering a blood collection tube after blood collection with a lid and stirring the blood collection tube, and a method of performing only the blood collection process will be described.

First, the preferable movement method of the cartridge <NUM> will be described. In the blood collection by the blood collection apparatus of the present embodiment, there is a possibility that blood may drop from the finger tip after puncture. Therefore, it is preferable to rotate the cartridge <NUM> so as not to pass over components (the biochemical and immunological blood collection tube <NUM>, the gauze <NUM>, and the adhesive bandage <NUM>) to be used in subsequent steps. Therefore, in the case of using the cartridge <NUM> of <FIG>, the cartridge <NUM> is rotated such that the puncture process → counterclockwise → the blood collection process (blood count) → clockwise → the blood collection process (biochemical and immunological) → counterclockwise → the hemostasis process (gauze) → the hemostasis process (adhesive bandage). Note that the rotational direction is different in a case where types or arrangements of components incorporated in the cartridge are different. That is, it is preferable to move the cartridge so as not to pass over the components used in the subsequent steps.

According to the present embodiment, since the blood collection apparatus using the blood collection tube, a finger compression and release mechanism, and a vertical-direction movement mechanism of the blood collection tube is provided, an extremely excellent effect that stable blood collection can be constantly realized for any subject is exhibited.

Next, the preferable shape of the blood collection tube will be described. The blood collection in the present embodiment is characterized in that the droplet of blood is transferred from the finger tip to the blood collection tube by changing the relative distance between the finger tip and the blood collection tube. Therefore, it is desirable that the blood collection tube have performance of attracting blood that is in contact. <FIG> is a cross-sectional view of a blood collection tube <NUM> having the same shape as the blood collection tube used in the present embodiment, and a blood collection tube with grooves <NUM>, a blood collection tube with a tapered groove <NUM>, and a blood collection tube with a blood collection guide <NUM> having improved performance of attracting blood that is in contact, obtained by improving the wettability of the surface. Specifically, the blood collection tube with grooves <NUM> has a plurality of thin linear grooves at a mouth <NUM>, the blood collection tube with a tapered groove <NUM> has a tapered groove at a mouth <NUM> (a groove having a wider groove width on the inlet side and a narrower groove width toward the lower side), and the blood collection tube with a blood collection guide <NUM> has a tapered guide at a mouth <NUM> (a protruding guide having a wider width on the inlet side and a narrower groove width toward the lower side), thereby increasing the wettability. The number of grooves or guides may be one or more. The protruding guide may be linear.

Next, automation of covering a blood collection tube after blood collection with a lid and stirring will be described. Although the blood collection tube after blood collection is detached and stirred by inversion and mixing in the above-described embodiment, the blood collection tube can be automatically covered with the lid and stirred in the apparatus by adding the following mechanism in the apparatus.

<FIG> are views illustrating an operation for attaching a blood collection tube lid <NUM> to the blood collection tube <NUM> in the cartridge container <NUM>, and illustrate the cartridge container <NUM> and a cover <NUM> in a cross-sectional view. When the cover <NUM> holding the blood collection tube lid <NUM> is arranged above the cartridge <NUM> (<FIG>), the blood collection tube <NUM> can be covered with the blood collection tube lid <NUM> by pushing the blood collection tube <NUM> into which blood collection has been completed upward by a lid attachment rod <NUM> to be pushed into the blood collection tube lid <NUM> (<FIG>).

<FIG> is a view illustrating an operation for rotation, revolution, and stirring of blood in the blood collection tube <NUM> inside the cartridge container <NUM>, and illustrates the cartridge container <NUM> and the cover <NUM> in a cross-sectional view similarly to <FIG>. When a protrusion <NUM> is provided in the cartridge container <NUM>, a gap <NUM> is provided in a portion of the cartridge case <NUM> that holds a blood collection tube holder <NUM>, and the cartridge <NUM> is rotated (counterclockwise in the drawing) by the rotational-direction driving mechanism <NUM> in this state, the blood collection tube holder <NUM> receives a force clockwise by the protrusion <NUM>. With this force, the blood collection tube holder <NUM> performs a planetary motion of revolving while rotating so that it is possible to rotate, revolve, and stir the blood in the blood collection tube <NUM>.

Although all the steps of puncture, blood collection, and hemostasis are performed using the blood collection apparatus <NUM> in the present embodiment, one of features of the present invention is the increase in the blood collection amount during the blood collection. Therefore, the puncture and hemostasis may be performed manually.

Claim 1:
A blood collection apparatus (<NUM>) comprising:
a puncture site holding mechanism (<NUM>) for holding a puncture site (<NUM>) of a subject;
a compression mechanism (<NUM>) for performing an operation of compressing and releasing the puncture site (<NUM>) when blood is collected from the puncture site (<NUM>);
a container holding mechanism (<NUM>) for holding a container (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) for collecting blood flowing from a puncture wound at the puncture site (<NUM>); and characterised by:
a driving mechanism (<NUM>) configured to vary a relative distance between the puncture site (<NUM>) and the container (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) during blood collection by vertically moving the puncture site holding mechanism (<NUM>), the container holding mechanism (<NUM>), or the container (<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>) held by the container holding mechanism (<NUM>) when blood flowing from the puncture wound is collected.