Patent ID: 7753888

Claim:
A microneedle comprising: a needle shaft with a solid tip, said shaft extending vertically above a needle base; said needle base defining a first plane (A) parallel to said base and said shaft defining a vertical line (B) substantially perpendicular to said first plane; an opening on said shaft, said opening being completely surrounded by solid material above said base nearer to said base than to said tip thereby forming a hollow microneedle; said opening having surrounding walls within said shaft that are substantially parallel to said vertical line; and a groove that runs along said shaft from said tip providing a recessed channel from said tip to said opening and terminates into said opening of said hollow microneedle, said groove defining a groove line (C), said groove at an acute angle from said vertical line; such that said tip can puncture a surface in order to deliver or sample fluids with reduced blockage of said opening, said opening being substantially distant from said solid tip, said groove providing fluidic guidance from said solid tip to said opening.