Patent ID: 7316700

Claim:
A lancing device comprising: a lancet with a shaft having a proximal driving end and a distal lancing end; a lancet driver coupled to said lancet for longitudinal displacement of said lancet; and a lancet controller coupled to said lancet driver and configured to change a magnitude of force exerted on the lancet during a lancing cycle, said lancet controller including a feedback loop for monitoring a longitudinal displacement and velocity to provide a controlled acceleration of said lancet and for modulating the lancet driver to provide a predetermined tissue lancing profile having characteristic phases for lancet advancement and retraction; and a position sensor coupled to the lancet and to the lancet controller, the position sensor and the lancet controller configured to measure a distance from an initialization point to a point of contact of the lancet to a target tissue surface, the lancet being retracted by the driver to the initialization point with a distance to the target tissue being measured and a depth of penetration of the lancet determined.