Patent ID: 7883473

Claim:
A lancing device comprising: a housing; a cassette removably mounted within said housing, said cassette comprising at least one lancet having a lancet body and a protective cap; a piston for propelling the lancet along a path of travel, said piston having a lancet coupling portion for releasably engaging and retracting the lancet to separate the lancet body and the protective cap along a retraction portion of the path of travel of the lancet, and thereafter advance the lancet along the path of travel into a lancing position; at least one guide member per lancet and in association therewith, the guide member being aligned transversely to the path of travel of the associated lancet within the cassette for engaging the separated protective cap of the associated lancet to guide the protective cap out of the path of travel; and a retainer position within the cassette adjacent each said at least one guide member to retain the separated protective cap.