A review of microsampling techniques and their social impact
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A review of microsampling techniques and their social impact Benson U. W. Lei 1,2 & Tarl W. Prow 1,2
# The Author(s) 2019
Abstract Conventional skin and blood sampling techniques for disease diagnosis, though effective, are often highly invasive and some even suffer from variations in analysis. With the improvements in molecular detection, the amount of starting sample quantity needed has significantly reduced in some diagnostic procedures, and this has led to an increased interest in microsampling techniques for disease biomarker detection. The miniaturization of sampling platforms driven by microsampling has the potential to shift disease diagnosis and monitoring closer to the point of care. The faster turnaround time for actionable results has improved patient care. The variations in sample quantification and analysis remain a challenge in the microsampling field. The future of microsampling looks promising. Emerging techniques are being clinically tested and monitored by regulatory bodies. This process is leading to safer and more reliable diagnostic platforms. This review discusses the advantages and disadvantages of current skin and blood microsampling techniques. Keywords Microsampling . Skin biopsy . Blood sampling . Minimally invasive . Point-of-care device . Microneedle
1 Introduction Microsampling is a procedure for capturing minute samples (usually 0.1–1 mL) intravenously using a hypodermic needle connected to an evacuation tube (Freeman et al. 2018) (Fig. 1). Various types of evacuation tubes can be used based on the risk of contamination and coagulation, such as an EDTA pre-filled tube that prevents clotting (Banfi et al. 2007). Venipuncture is often performed on the volar forearm of the patient in the sampling process, and a tourniquet can be used to restrict blood flow. Once the sample is collected in the evacuation tube, it can be delivered to a central diagnostic laboratory for analysis under appropriate storage and delivery conditions (Tsai et al. n.d.). Although the technique can provide accurate diagnosis, it is often considered a costly and time-consuming procedure due to the consumables, personnel and storage/logistical requirements (Freeman et al. 2018). For example, in a central testing laboratory setting, the turnaround time of blood testing ranges from hours to days depending on the sample/result delivery between the clinic and the central laboratory (Cohen et al. 2014; Jones et al. 2007). A central laboratory might require more than double the amount of time to process a sample as compared to a POC test for some basic blood tests, such as cell count and glucose level analysis (Tsai et al. n.d.). Another limitation of the conventional approach stems from the fact that it is tailored to be used on adults and not readily suitable for pediatric applications, such as newborn screening,
Fig. 1 Phlebotomy is one of the most commonly used conventional blood sampling techniques. The process consists of using an invasive needle and/or catheter to sample > 0.1–1 mL of blood for biomarker analys
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