Grant: Collaborative Health Research Projects

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.