Automated robotic device developed for faster blood testing

New York, June 13: Researchers have developed an automated blood drawing and testing device that provides rapid results and allows health care practitioners to spend more time treating patients. The study suggests that the device provides highly accurate results from a white blood cell test, using a blood-like fluid spiked with fluorescent microbeads. It includes an image-guided robot for drawing blood from veins, a sample-handling module and a centrifuge-based blood analyser, researchers said. The testing used artificial arms with plastic tubes that served as blood vessels. “This device represents the holy grail in blood testing technology,” said co-author Martin L. Yarmush from the Rutgers University-New Brunswick in New Jersey. “Integrating miniaturised robotic and microfluidic (lab-on-a-chip) systems, this technology combines the breadth and accuracy of traditional blood drawing and laboratory testing with the speed and convenience of point-of-care testing,” Yarmush added. (IANS)