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Blood tests
play an important role in medicine where it help guide medical decisions. For
example, it can assess general state of health, check for infections, see how
well certain organs are working, screen for certain genetic conditions, or
monitor disease progress. However, drawing blood can cause pain and anxiety, negatively
affecting health outcomes. In addition, current technologies require both
specialized equipment and personnel, and finding new solutions could both
improve efficiency and health outcomes.
The health
technology company Seventh Sense Biosystems is developing an innovative device
with the aim of eliminating the barriers to successful blood sample collection
and testing. Their Touch-Activated Phlebotomy (TAP) technology enables
painless, sterile, secure, and convenient blood sample collection without
requiring venous access. The device is about the size of the bell of a
stethoscope, and uses microneedles to penetrate the uppermost layers of the
skin. The microneedles are discharged and retracted at extremely high speed to pierce
the skin, creating vacuum to painlessly withdraw capillary blood.
The
innovative technology is simple and designed to be both patient and healthcare
provider friendly, with minimal training required. The collection site is
disinfected before the device is placed on the forearm. After pushing a button,
an indicator changes color showing that the collection chamber is full, and the
device can be removed.
While
current blood collection methods involve numerous steps, and require
significant training, potentially leading to variability in results, Seventh
Sense has engineered these steps into a single device. The device is sterile
and secure, and clinical studies have found no significant difference between
TAP and other commonly performed blood tests. The device is set to go through a
pivotal trial, and the company is expected to file for marketing authorization
in US and EU in the second quarter of 2016.
The
innovative technology is particularly useful in difficult-to-draw patients, and
it has been able to obtain samples from patients whose blood could not be
collected with traditional venipuncture. It also provide a unique solution to
the millions of people who have a fear of needles, a fear that leads many of
these to forego testing and medical treatment. Reducing the pain and improving
the convenience of blood collection could increase adherence to recommended
testing, provide doctors with more timely data to base diagnoses and treatment
decisions. Ultimately, removing the barriers to successful blood sample collection
will lead to better health outcomes.
Seventh
Sense Biosystems was founded in 2008 in Flagship VentureLabs, and their
investors include Flagship Ventures, Polaris Partners, Siemens AG, Novartis International AG and Labcorp. The company is working on incorporating
additional functionalities, such as sample processing technologies and
diagnostic capabilities. They also look to include multi-sample collection,
plasma separation, dried blood spot production and multiple assays to enable
one-step collection and testing.
