Stress-free sampling

A team from the Henry Wellcome Laboratories for Integrative Neuroscience and Endocrinology has developed a new way of collecting blood samples, increasing the consistency of samples and reducing the need for multiple procedures.

Blood tests are common procedures in medicine and sometimes several are required over a prolonged period. Hormones, for example, fluctuate throughout the day and need multiple samples to monitor.

Most people find the process unpleasant, and even the approach by a nurse can cause stress and anxiety.

'Current techniques for repetitive sampling require a nurse or healthcare worker to draw blood through a syringe connected to an intravenous line,' said Dr David Henley, from the Henry Wellcome Laboratories for Integrative Neuroscience and Endocrinology at Bristol University.

'This is a particular problem if doctors are measuring stress hormones, as the blood tests can provoke anxiety and affect the levels of the hormone. Being manually intensive it is also prone to sampling error.'