The device is a needle-free, painless, and easy-to-use method for collecting blood samples. (Credit: Loop Medical)

A new technology offers a needle-free, painless and easy-to-use method for collecting blood samples. The device allows blood samples to be taken in a minimally invasive, painless way. Once positioned on a patient’s upper arm, it enhances capillary blood flow just beneath the skin through a combination of patented skin vasodilation and micro-incision technology. The sampling process takes only a few minutes.

Another advantage of the new system is that it can be used by professionals, but also by patients themselves, right in their own homes. They simply need to push a button to withdraw 1 mL of blood at a time, which is a quantity large enough to be compatible with the high-throughput blood analyzers used in major laboratories. They can then send their samples to a laboratory for analysis through a special shipping procedure.

The system delivers blood samples of the same quality as those obtained through standard venipuncture. In addition, there is less risk of hemolysis, or red blood cell destruction, as well as reduced interstitial fluid contamination.

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