taking blood without using blood work needles: new age blood sampling

For a participant, taking blood draws can be an unsettling experience. Especially when using a painful blood work needle. But the makers of disruptive blood sampling technology are rethinking needles and venipuncture and opening an exciting frontier of product design.

Blood sampling devices have a fascinating history. Since 1947, scientists have successfully tried to improve the experience from the creation of Vacutainer vacuum tubes and standardization of blood collection tubes to dried blood spot sampling. Changes in dried blood sampling ushered in Volumetric Absorptive Microsampling (VAMS™).

Microsampling: You May Have Heard of It

Microsampling technology has enabled collection of very tiny amounts of blood that are enough to evaluate the drug levels and the biochemistry parameters of blood. A blood micro-sample is a sample of less or equal to 50µl. Samples of 10- 30µl are enough for analyzing the blood, plasma or serum chemical exposure.

Mitra® microsampling devices enable accurate and precise collection of a fixed volume of blood while eliminating bias posed by dried blood spotting hematocrit analysis (volumetric blood haematocrit). They require only minimal training and are easier to use. This enables collection of blood from remote locations. Moreover, dried blood samples don’t require cold storage or biohazard transportation, consequently eliminating associated costs.

• Blood Collection Devices and Products -  The Mitra microsampler is available in several formats, including the clamshell and the cartridge. The cartridge format is a suitable device for remote blood collection. It uses native barcoding and its associated accessories include a resealable bag. The use of any Mitra sampling device is less painful, thus increasing patient satisfaction. Other industry innovations speak to the efficacy of using capillary blood for routine purposes. New devices use capillary action to draw blood through tiny channels. These disposable devices can replace traditional venipunctures at medical laboratories. They can collect 150µl of blood, enough to test for cholesterol, blood sugar, cancer cells, infections, and other ailments.
  
  
• New Blood Sampling Devices - Even more new specimen sampling devices will be hitting the market soonn. A touch-activated device was launched in January 2017. When placed on the upper arm, the device only micro-punctures the upper layers of the skin. It has 30 thin needles that work like a leech to draw blood. As a result, a hundred microliters (100µL) of blood are drawn in a matter of two minutes.

What ties together all these new threads in blood collection product design is a desire to minimize pain and discomfort for participants.