Virtually Painless Blood Sample Collection Device to Revolutionize Diagnostic Testing

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 07 Nov 2023

Image: The Touch-Activated Phlebotomy is designed for virtually painless whole capillary blood collection (Photo courtesy of YourBio Health)

The discomfort and inconvenience of traditional blood sampling methods like venipuncture and fingersticks, along with a surge in the need for diagnostics that can be performed outside of traditional healthcare settings, have led to the creation of diagnostic tests that only require minimal blood or interstitial fluid volumes. The process of drawing ample amounts of blood using lancets for testing is often a barrier to testing, especially for certain groups of patients. Furthermore, the lack of standardization in fingerstick blood collection, specifically in the techniques of squeezing the finger and the timing of collection and testing, can vary the quality of the blood sample, affecting the test outcomes. Additionally, it's often difficult to gather a substantial volume of blood (at least 200 microliters) from a fingerstick. Now, an innovative method is making the blood collection process more humane, offering benefits for diagnostic and wellness tests administered at clinical labs or at home by patients themselves.

YourBio Health’s (Boston, MA, USA) 'Touch-Activated Phlebotomy' (TAP) is designed for virtually painless whole capillary blood collection using devices incorporating patented technology. The technology overcomes the drawbacks of conventional blood collection by enabling the gathering of a capillary blood sample from any location on the body, eliminating the discomfort caused by fingersticks or traditional phlebotomy. TAP utilizes microneedles finer than an eyelash, making it less painful than both fingerstick methods and venipuncture, as well as other competing devices.

The TAP Micro Select device for blood collection is designed to yield high-quality and high-volume blood samples that are compatible with standard laboratory processing. Having been subjected to testing with hundreds of thousands of patients, this device consistently collects over 200 microliters of blood in more than 92% of attempts. YourBio Health does not perform the tests but owns the patents for these groundbreaking devices. In addition, the company offers a suite of ancillary services like sample tracking, which can be tailored to support a wide array of clinical trials and high-standard blood sampling for wellness purposes. YourBio Health has received further regulatory approval for its TAP Micro Select blood collection device with certification for CE Marking.

"With our patented Halo technology within the TAP micro series of blood collection devices, YourBio Health is unique in offering virtually painless blood sample collection using a bladeless microneedle array. Regulatory approval will enable our device's use with commercial blood collection tubes and allow use in kits that revolutionize blood testing in diagnostics and wellness," said Harry Wilcox, Chief Executive Officer of YourBio Health. "This additional regulatory clearance will further support the trend in decentralized clinical trials and recruitment and maintenance of more diverse patient populations that are known to be more relevant with certain diseases, which will inevitably lead to successes with much needed new treatments, as well as access to treatments for currently underserved and voluntarily unwilling patient groups."

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YourBio Health