Blood sample collection tubes are described including a tube surface and a coating set comprising a tie coating or layer N of SiO.sub.xC.sub.y or SiN.sub.yC.sub.y applied to the tube surface, a barrier coating or layer of SiO.sub.x, and a pH protective layer of SiO.sub.xC.sub.y or SiN.sub.yC.sub.y. The C tubes optionally contain a fluid with a pH of 4 to 8, alternatively 5 to 9. The barrier coating or layer prevents oxygen from penetrating into the thermoplastic tube, and the tie coating or layer and pH protective coating or layer together protect the barrier layer from the contents of the tube. Processes of collecting high volumes of blood into the tube, and methods of isolating the various types of nucleic N acids from the collected blood sample are described.

Blood sample optimization systems and methods are described that reduce or eliminate contaminates in collected blood samples, which in turn reduces or eliminates false positive readings in blood cultures or other testing of collected blood samples. A blood sample optimization system can include a blood sequestration device located between a patient needle and a sample needle. The blood sequestration device can include a sequestration chamber for sequestering an initial, potentially contaminated aliquot of blood, and may further include a sampling channel that bypasses the sequestration chamber to convey likely uncontaminated blood between the patient needle and the sample needle after the initial aliquot of blood is sequestered in the sequestration chamber.

Exemplary embodiments provide automatic injection devices, housing components for automatic injection devices and methods for fabricating the same. An exemplary housing of an automatic injection device may be overmolded with one or more gripping surfaces to facilitate gripping and manipulation of the automatic injection device by a user when performing an injection. In an exemplary embodiment, an overmolded left gripping surface may extend along a left side of the housing and an overmolded right gripping surface may extend along a right side of the housing opposite to the left side.

A method for producing a membrane ring or test strip ring for a diagnostic test device includes an elongate strip that is divided into segments by cuts running transversely to the longitudinal direction of the strip, where the cuts are made only as far as a residual width of the strip so that a material bridge remains intact between the segments adjacent to the cuts (24). The strip is closed by bringing its ends together to form a ring where the cut edges of the cuts running towards the material bridges each enclose an acute angle (). The ring is inserted into a support structure as a membrane ring or test strip ring for the test device.

An arterial catheter system may include a catheter assembly, which may include a catheter hub and an arterial catheter. The arterial catheter system may include a needle assembly, which may include a needle hub and an introducer needle. The arterial catheter system may include an extension tube coupled to the catheter assembly and a fluid pathway extending through the arterial catheter, catheter hub, and the extension tube. A first fluidic resistance within a portion of the fluid pathway within the extension tube may be greater than a second fluidic resistance within the fluid pathway distal to or proximal to the portion of the fluid pathway. The extension tube may have a length L and an inner diameter D. A geometric factor G.sub.f of the portion of the fluid pathway may equal L/D.sup.4 and may be selected to reduce hemolysis during blood draw from an artery.

An arterial catheter system may include a catheter assembly, which may include a catheter adapter. The arterial catheter system may include an arterial catheter extending from a distal end of the catheter adapter. The arterial catheter system may include a needle assembly, which may include a needle hub and an introducer needle. The arterial catheter system may include an arterial hemoshield device coupled to the catheter assembly. The arterial catheter system may include a fluid pathway within the arterial catheter, the catheter adapter, and the arterial hemoshield device. A first fluidic resistance within a portion of the fluid pathway within the arterial hemoshield device may be greater than a second fluidic resistance within the fluid pathway distal to the portion of the fluid pathway.

A blood collection unit is suitable for accelerated blood coagulation of whole blood for subsequent autologous or allogeneic use. The blood collection unit includes an inside surface that has an activation site which accelerates coagulation by having a high roughness. A blood collection unit including an inside surface that has an activation site having a high roughness area, and an interior of the blood collection unit is prepared with a pressure of no more than 255 mBar, and preferably a pressure of no more than 130 mBar.

Methods and systems for manufacturing a transdermal sampling and analysis device for non-invasively and transdermally obtaining biological samples from a subject and determining levels of analytes of the obtained biological samples are provided. A method of manufacturing the device may improve performance and includes forming channel structures on the lid of the device, thereby making the spacer/channel support structures physically independent and separable from the sensing electrode. Other methods of manufacturing the device may improve performance and include forming at least one of the electrodes on each of the base and the lid, and forming a recessed second spacer layer over the channel support structures, thereby separating the channel support structures and the electrode on the lid to allow a larger area of the electrode to be exposed to the biological sample.

An automatically locking safety device, e.g., for use in a blood collection procedure, can include a housing, first and second needle covers that are at least partly received in the housing, and a needle that is at least partly received in at least one of the first and second needle covers. The needle can include a proximal tip configured for placement into a patient and a distal tip configured for placement into a blood collection vial. In some embodiments, the first and second needle covers are biased by a biasing member. In some cases, one or both of the first and second needle covers can be locked to prevent axial movement thereof after the blood collection procedure. In certain embodiments, a distal end of the device is configured to connect with a medical connector, such as a needleless IV access device.

Coextruded plastic capillary tube and method of manufacturing a coextruded tube for collecting a volume of liquid. The tube is disposable, inexpensive to manufacture and can reliably draw blood and other aqueous based fluids into the tube by capillary action, at a fluid uptake level comparable to glass and other commercially pre-treated plastic tubes, without requiring further interior coating.