Product designers at Switzerland-based Loop Medical know that many people fear being pricked with a needle. That’s why they’re hard at work testing a prototype needle-free, blood-collection device that allows for diagnostic tests at a hospital, lab, doctor’s office, workplace or home.
The product extracts blood from capillaries just below the skin, unlike conventional devices that collect blood from the vein. Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the technology is designed to simplify blood diagnostic testing at health care facilities worldwide.