According to a recent patent filed by Google, the company is apparently toying with the idea of having a needle free blood draw system. From what we can see in the patent application, Google is making two types of systems to procure your blood.
The first blood collection system would be a wearable. The device would be placed on your wrist but looks somewhat large in nature. The other system one that works by pushing a bit of gas into a barrel containing micro-particles that can pierce skin. Once blood is released, a negative pressure barrel then collects the blood.
The needle free system could have many applications. For instance, those with diabetes who have to monitor their blood-glucose levels could use this to limit the pain and tenderness from needle sticks.
“Such an application might be used to draw a small amount of blood, for example, for a glucose test,” Google said.
A spokesman from Google told the Verge though, just because the company files a patent, it doesn’t mean anything’s going to come from it.
“We hold patents on a variety of ideas — some of those ideas later mature into real products or services, some don’t. Prospective product announcements should not necessarily be inferred from our patents.”
Alphabet and its now standalone company Life Sciences are currently working on other health and diabetes related projects including smart contact lens and a cloud-connected sensor about the size of a bandage to monitor glucose levels.
We’re not sure whether or not Google — or Alphabet — is working on an actual device at all or if it’s just a concept. One thing is for certain, if these concepts and devices take off and gain the approval of the FDA, Google could have some success with those who are diabetic. Either way, it seems like health boosting wearables are definitely in our future.
Are you a diabetic? Would the thought of less needle-pricks entice you to pick up a Google-made blood draw system? Let us know on Google+, Facebook or Twitter. You can also let us know in the comments below.
[button link=”http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=/netahtml/PTO/srchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=20150342509.PGNR.” icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source:USPTO[/button][button link=”http://www.theverge.com/2015/12/3/9846088/google-needle-free-blood-draw-patent” icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Via: The Verge[/button]Last Updated on November 27, 2018.
