Patent ID: 8177730

Claim:
A method of generating a blood sample from dermal tissue, the method comprising the steps of: (a) lancing the dermal tissue so as to create a wound site, and (b) after the lancing step, expressing blood out from the wound site with a blood expression device having a crimping member and a sleeve, the step of expressing blood comprised of: placing proximate the wound site the crimping member having a longitudinal axis, and a support member with a first end and a second end and a plurality of movable fingers coupled to the first end of the support member, each movable finger extending from the support member at an outward bias away from the longitudinal axis; slidably placing an open end of the sleeve over the second end of the support member, wherein the sleeve is configured to move inward each movable finger; and moving the sleeve along the longitudinal axis over the movable fingers toward the dermal tissue, wherein as the sleeve moves toward the wound site, an amount of inward movement of each movable finger increases, wherein the inward movement of each movable finger expresses the blood from the wound site.