Researchers develop automated venipuncture device that automates phlebotomy procedure

A new medical device has been developed that will provide phlebotomists and clinicians with a technology to enable blood drawing accuracy at first stick. This is particularly important considering the diverse patient demographic each with various levels of difficult venous access. Soon, this enhanced accuracy will greatly reduce patient discomfort as well as procedure time and cost. A team of researchers from VascuLogic, LLC, have developed the world’s first automated venipuncture medical device that automates the phlebotomy procedure, either for blood draws or the placement of IV lines. In both in vitro and in vivo validation studies, including validation on human subjects, the device demonstrated greater than 95% first stick accuracy, and additionally outperformed human phlebotomist controls. 56% of the adult population and 82% of paediatric population suffer from trypanophobia, the fear of needles. Tryphanophobia is just one of the issues faced by clinicians when needing to draw blood. The researchers from Vasculogic, LLC conducted their own intensive survey of over 200 US based phlebotomists, identified difficult venous access as a significant problem in small children, particularly in terms of pain, time, and patient and parent anxiety due to difficult/multiple needle stick(s). Additionally they have validated that parent acceptance of the device is over 98%, given demonstrated efficacy and safety of the device. First and foremost, the team worked on the safety features for the new device. Arm restraints, real-time tracking during injection at every 3 milliseconds, and sterile disposable sleeves to prevent contamination between patients, are some of the safety features implemented.