Grant: Collaborative Health Research Projects (NSERC partnered)

Blood is the most useful sample fluid for lab medicine and diagnostics. It is most often obtained by inserting a needle in a vein in the arm (venipuncture). In the US, over 2 billion venipunctures are performed annually and is a technique that requires skilled personnel. Venipuncture is often associated with pain, discomfort and bruising, and is most difficult in persons with small, fragile, or "deep" veins (e.g. obesity), in babies, and when repeated sampling is needed. We propose an alternative that will minimize discomfort and bruising, will not require highly skilled personnel, and will be safe and easy. Our project combines an array of tiny needles (microneedles) that can be placed as a "patch" on the surface of the skin to collect small amounts of blood. The microneedles cause little discomfort, have a very low risk of causing bruising, and can be applied by the patient or a non-medical person. As the blood is collected, it will flow into a "lab-on-a-chip-on-a-phone" device, where the blood tests will automatically be performed using new and highly sensitive fluorescent probes. These tests will include immunoassays for protein biomarkers associated with cardiovascular disease, partially in collaboration with our industry partner, as well as assays of the activities of blood coagulation factors. Results from this platform can be immediately and electronically sent to the patient and physician. This research builds on successful preliminary applications with the microneedle arrays and fluorescent probes separately. We will now further develop and combine these innovative methods for a much-needed medical use, make comparisons to the standard venipuncture approach, and ultimately plan to perform many tests simultaneously with the devices. The benefits over current methods will be substantial: a painless, safe and user-friendly way to draw and test blood, with rapid reporting of results to health professionals and patients.