Test your blood with Hemolink sans needles
A US company has invented a device that is a blood test without needles or bites, to check for levels of cholesterol or blood sugar painlessly. Could this be the revolutionary end to our squeamish worries?
Hemolink is a small device that could be a real revolutionary product. Thanks to this nifty little gadget, the US company Tasso Inc. intends to address two problems at once: Banishing the need to get up early to queue for a blood sample at the lab on an empty stomach (since fasting is a requirement), and also the need to suffer the discomfort of the needle going into the skin. Hemolink is indeed a portable system capable of making a puncture without blood sampling, and can be used at home.
A BLOOD TEST WITHOUT NEEDLES? IS IT POSSIBLE ?
The device, about the size of a ping pong ball, acts like a suction cup once applied to the skin. It draws blood from the capillaries, and requires just two minutes for it to be collected in a small removable container that will then be sent to the lab to perform the analysis. Quick, easy and painless. Hemolink is currently capable of pumping 0.15cc of blood, sufficient to test cholesterol, glucose levels in the blood or to detect infection. In short, it’s a true innovation which should be popular with those who hate needles. The creators have announced they would seek the approval of the US Food and Drug Agency (FDA) within 2015 and hope to market their discovery in 2016. We cannot wait for it to reach our shores!
Source: Press Release – University of Wisconsin / Madison
Photo credit: David Tenenbaum
Maureen Diament and Nur Syazana H.
