An American company has invented a device that draws blood without a needle. In two minutes, it extracts enough blood to test for cholesterol levels.
Needle phobic will appreciate … An American company, Tasso, Inc., wants blood to be less painful and painful. For this, she imagined a needle-free device that can be used at home.
This tool, which seems futuristic, was developed in collaboration with researchers from University of Wisconsin at Madison (United States). Practically painless, it is applied to the skin and collects blood by capillary action. In two minutes, HemoLink is able to “suck” enough blood to measure cholesterol levels. The creators would like thereafter that this device makes it possible to follow the evolution of cancer or a chronic disease.
Photo: David Tenenbaum
Marketing planned for 2016
To finance its project, the start-up received $ 3 million (more than 2.5 million euros) from DARPA, the American agency in charge of new military technologies. At the same time, with the help of the American National Institute of Health, the company is developing a technique for screening for HIV.
But for the moment, an obstacle persists: the conservation of samples. Indeed, one of the objectives of Tasso, Inc. is to send samples by mail. However, this process does not make it possible to reproduce the storage conditions in the laboratory (an ambient temperature of 18 to 22 ° C and keep the tubes in a vertical position). To remedy this, the researchers want to find a way to stabilize the blood so that it can remain intact even after a week at 60 ° C.
The company hopes to be able to apply for a marketing authorization by the end of 2015 for marketing in 2016.
.
