A patient-friendly blood collection device that produces pure plasma samples for simple laboratory analysis
Blood analysis is undoubtedly one of the most powerful medical diagnostic tools. In most cases, blood tests are often a part of regular check-up undertaken yearly to diagnose certain abnormal values, such as low haemoglobin or high/low sodium or potassium levels. In Europe tens of millions of blood tests are performed annually. Blood collection techniques have not significantly changed since 1950’s: venepuncture is the most routinely performed procedure and skilled healthcare professionals and complex procedures to attain adequate blood samples are still required. In addition to an outdated process, before the blood is tested, it needs to be precisely prepared for analysis. Most routine laboratory tests are performed on plasma, which is the liquid component of blood which contains dissolved proteins, glucose, clotting factors, mineral ions, hormones and drugs. However, the preparation of the blood plasma is a time consuming and costly process.
HemaXis DX is a dried blood plasma spot device which uses microfluidics technology to collect and prepare accurate volume of controlled samples of plasma immediately ready to be analysed in laboratory allowing sample preparation directly at the point of collection. HemaXis DX allows the clinician/lab technician to collect the required drops of blood from the fingertip in a minimally invasive, fast and painless manner. Unlike the traditional venepuncture, this method of collecting blood does not result in any side effects. A simple finger prick is needed to extract a minimal amount of blood in single droplets in a matter of seconds.
During the phase 1 project, a go-to-market strategy and a supply chain will be established, as well as further development plan will be drafted. Within the overall innovation project DBS System will finalize its engineering of HemaXis DX before scaling up for clinical studies and system industrialization.