Are
you among the many who get squeamish or have difficulties giving blood? You’ll
be happy to know that there are groups worldwide working on devices that will
make testing blood and administering medication intravenously easier and more
efficient. One such noteworthy endeavor led by Dr. Dvir Yelin at the Biomedical
Optics Laboratory, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, is working on the
development of a non-invasive blood test that will allow medical practicians to
view and analyze a patient’s blood, reliably and in real time without the use of
a needle or costly blood labs.
Measuring a patient’s blood composition is the first step in making a
diagnosis. Currently this is done by extracting blood with a needle. However,
difficulties associated with invasive blood extraction; patients with phobias,
hard to find veins, and delays in receiving results; particularly problematic
for critical cases, has led to the need to advance blood testing methods.
One of the focuses of Dr. Dvir Yelin’s group is creating minimally invasive
devices through advanced optics to address some of today’s clinical challenges.
The device currently under development is non-invasive imaging of flowing blood
cells using label-free spectrally encoded flow Cytometry (SEFC). Instead of a
needle, the device uses a compact imaging probe placed on the patient’s lower
lip to allow medical professionals to observe blood dynamics live, within the
vein, transmitted to their personal computer using custom program (Labview,
National Instruments).
