Portable Venous Access and Point of Care Diagnostics

Background

Venipuncture is carried out manually in various clinical settings by trained personnel.

It is estimated that 1 billion venipunctures are performed annually in the US alone.

Difficult venous access can happen to select patient groups (such as the elderly and children) and in sub-optimal conditions (field emergencies, etc), which calls for multiple venipuncture attempts or other interventions.

Multiple venipuncture may cause additional stress to patients, increase the risk of needle stick injury and delay vital treatment. It also causes the increase in medical costs and takes up precious medical workers’ time.

Technology Overview

The technology relates to a self-contained, compact and portable device for venipuncture applying robust three dimensional image reconstruction algorithms to: (i) locate suitable vein, (ii) perform the venipuncture, and if required, (iii) integrate with point of care diagnostic and/or therapeutic technologies.

The current first-prototype yields 98%

(n=288) first stick accuracy in less than a minute.

Application areas:

• Peripheral venous blood collection

• Peripheral venous blood collection with

automated diagnostic capabilities

• Intravenous (IV) therapy (i.e. insertion of IV catheter for administration of drug/blood/fluid)

Unique Advantages

l   “All-in-one” point-of-care testing (including hemogram analysis)

l   Portable and compact design

l   Standardization of instrument, reagents,and methodology

l   Minimises risk of needle stick injury

l   Reduces the dependence on skilled phlebotomists

l   Reduced medical costs (i.e. medical workers’ time, consumables, etc)

Opportunity

The company is looking for:

l   Strategic development partners

l   Suitable out-licensing partners; and/or

l   Investments towards the development of the device for market introduction