Most everyone of us would have had to take a blood-test at least once in our life and most of us expect such a simple procedure to go smoothly. It could turn slightly difficult, though, for those from whom lab technicians find it hard to find the right nerve. In this case, the person may be poked several times in the arm until the vein can be found.

A team from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College London has been working on a robot that could make this process of collecting a blood sample simpler and much more accurate. The team has developed a robot that can take blood samples from the ante-cubital fossa (the region of the arm where blood is most usually collected from).

The robot, Bloodbot, probes the surface of the tissue and inserts the needle only when it finds the nerve. Moreover, it senses how deep the needle has to be inserted so that it doesn’t penetrate more than is required. Testing of the robot has revealed that it is most accurate and the instument can reduce accidents in field.

Via: MedGadget