A novel design of hollow microneedle for blood sample collection
In this study, a novel design of microneedle is proposed based on structural and fluidic analysis. For blood collection applications, a hollow microneedle is designed with optimal features. The features and size of this microneedle provide improved structural strength for optimal skin penetration. Mechanical evaluations are studied with intensive calculations of maximum allowance axial and transverse forces, followed by numerical simulation of the insertion process. In addition, the fluid behavior is also investigated. The dual diameter design of the hollow part was shown to maximize the extraction efficiency and minimize the clogging problem for high-volume collection of blood. Our study proposes a design guideline on making a high-performance microneedle for blood collection.