Patent ID: 7491178

Claim:
A body fluid sampling system for use on a tissue site, the system comprising: a housing; an electronic penetrating member driver at least partially within the housing; at least one disposable within the housing, the disposable including an analyte sensor in a sample chamber configured to receive body fluid from a wound in tissue created by a penetrating member; a penetrating member associated with the sample chamber the penetrating member and the associated sample chamber having a combined occupied volume of no more than about 5.0 cm 3 ; a transport mechanism configured to engage the at least one disposable, wherein the penetrating member is operatively engaged with the penetrating member driver when moved into position by the transport mechanism, wherein the driver provides the force to advance the penetrating member; and a user interface on the housing and coupled to a programmable processor operatively programmed with software that has control instructions for the electronic penetrating member driver to keep a wound tract created by a penetrating member open for a sufficient time to provide for spontaneous flow of blood for sample capture into an associated sample chamber, wherein the control instructions are selected from at least one of, velocity of a penetrating member, velocity of a penetrating member in or out of target tissue and a dwell time of a penetrating member in the tissue site, wherein the processor provides the user interface with an option selected from at least one of, velocity of a penetrating member, a desired velocity profile, a velocity of a penetrating member into the target tissue, velocity of the penetrating member out of the target tissue, dwell time of the penetrating member in the target tissue, and a target tissue relaxation parameter, the processor determining a time and position of tissue contact and depth of penetration in response to knowing, distance of a penetrating member tip portion from the target tissue, acceleration and displacement of the penetrating member, and a start position of the penetrating member.