A new needle-free blood extraction device that is “almost entirely painless” is one step closer to hitting the market.
The device, which applies a vacuum to the skin and uses capillary action to suck blood out of the skin over two minutes, can be posted to patients, a University of Wisconsin press release states.
But keeping the sample at the right temperature on the way back is still a challenge, Science Alert reports.
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The Hemolink is the size of a ping-pong ball and must be applied to the skin either on the arm or abdomen for two minutes.
The Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency has invested $3 million in Tasso Inc, the company developing the product.
The DARPA grant money was to come up with a method of preserving the blood sample under extreme temperatures of up to 60 degrees Celsius for a week and still be fit for analysis, to eliminate the need for refrigeration.
If further trials succeed, Tasso will seek US Food and Drug Administration approval later in 2015, with an expected approval in 2016.
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