Drawing Blood at the Push of a Button: A new blood-draw device is quick and simple to use on the battlefield.

Courtesy Photo | A new blood-draw device is quick and simple to use on the battlefield.  

FORT BELVOIR , VA, UNITED STATES

10.06.2020

Courtesy Story

Defense Threat Reduction Agency's Chemical and Biological Technologies Department

When caring for sick warfighters on the battlefield, medics need to be able to draw blood efficiently and quickly. The volume of blood collected needs to be enough to perform diagnostic tests that identify disease or an exposure to a chemical or biological threat agent, so medics draw blood from the vein to collect the quantity needed. They use many tools: needles, syringes, and test tubes to draw, collect, and store blood for testing in laboratories. A new, simple blood-draw device is available commercially, and with modifications, it may offer medics just one tool to draw, collect, and store blood. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency’s (DTRA) Chemical and Biological Technologies Department, in its role as the Joint Science and Technology Office (JSTO) for the Chemical and Biological Defense Program, is supporting the device’s manufacturer to modify the device for use by medics.

The commercial, off-the-shelf blood-draw device collects capillary blood. The volume of capillary blood that can be drawn at one time is insufficient for diagnosing an infection or the presence of a threat agent. The volume necessary to perform a diagnostic test is at least 750 μL, so venous blood is drawn. The tools needed to draw venous blood require trained medical personnel, a biohazard bag to store used needles and prevent needle-stick injuries, and adherence to standard laboratory protocols for storing the collected blood. The battlefield may have limited resources, such as a cooling source to preserve the blood sample for shipment to a laboratory for testing. The new device is compact and may help overcome some limitations on the battlefield.

So far, the device-modification efforts are promising. Prototypes of the new device, made through 3D printing, have reliably increased the volume of blood collected from one iteration to another: from 200 μL (about four raindrops) to 750 μL. DTRA-JSTO’s device that military medics may one day use will be similar in function to the device available commercially. The commercial device has an adhesive ring that attaches to the patient’s skin (such as on the arm) and securely draws blood at the push of a button. When activated by the button, the lancets (needles) in the device gently puncture the skin, capture blood in a self-sealing vacuum tube, and withdraw into the device. The needles and blood collection are fully encapsulated in the device, causing no spillage; the sealed vacuum tube is detachable for sample transport. Feedback on the device is that it is easy to use and less painful than a finger prick.

DTRA-JSTO’s modified device will enable collection and transport of potentially hazardous clinical samples — such as blood from a warfighter with an infection — anywhere in the world, without risking blood-borne exposure to a disease. Moreover, the modified device requires no trained medical personnel to perform the blood draw. The modified device will be able to collect enough blood for diagnostic purposes and have smaller-sized needles than what are used in the commercial version. DTRA-JSTO is currently transitioning the new device to advanced development, and soon, the device will be in the hands of military medics.

POC: Kathleen Quinn, [e-mail]

• Date Taken: 10.06.2020
• Date Posted: 10.06.2020 16:05
• Story ID: 380359
• Location: FORT BELVOIR , VA, US