An end-to-end blood test device that combines robotic phlebotomy with downstream sample processing to draw blood also provides diagnostic results with rapid turnaround times at the point of care. The automated blood drawing and testing system devised at Rutgers University offers to enhance hospital work-flow and enable 
The fully automated device includes an image-guided robot for drawing blood from veins, a sample-handling module and a centrifuge-based blood analyzer. Source: Max Balter/Rutgers Universitypractitioners to devote more time to treating patients.
The system was designed to address current drawbacks associated with manual blood tests. Currently, the draw success rate is dependent on clinician skill and patient physiology, as well as the time it takes to generate results in centralized labs from large-volume samples using labor-intensive analytical techniques.
The automated blood test device includes an image-guided venipuncture robot able to overcome the challenges of routine venous access, and a centrifuge-based blood analyzer to obtain quantitative measurements of hematology.
Their device provides highly accurate results from a white blood cell test, using a blood-like fluid spiked with fluorescent microbeads. The system was tested using artificial arms with plastic tubes that served as blood vessels and a blood-like fluid spiked with fluorescent microbeads. Highly accurate results were obtained for a white blood cell test. The device is expected to provide rapid test results at bedsides or in ambulances, emergency rooms, clinics and doctors’ offices.
The research is published in the journal Technology.
