Robotic devices for automated venipuncture and diagnostic blood analysis

Diagnostic blood testing is the most ubiquitous clinical procedure in the world, and influences 80% of medical decisions made in hospital, ambulatory, and primary care settings. However, manual blood draw success rates depend heavily on clinician skill and patient physiology, and results are generated almost exclusively in centralized labs from large-volume samples using labor-intensive analytical techniques. This dissertation describes the development of a medical device that enables complete end-to-end blood testing by performing blood draws and providing diagnostic results in fully automated fashion. The device couples an image-guided venipuncture robot, to address the challenges of routine venous access, with a centrifuge-based blood analyzer to obtain quantitative measurements of hematology within minutes of the sample collection. The system uses 3D near-infrared and ultrasound imaging to guide the robotic needle insertion, a sample handling module to deliver the sample to the processing unit, and an analyzer capable of performing multi-analyte detection. In a series of engineering tests, phantom studies, and motion tracking experiments, the venipuncture robot demonstrated sub-millimeter accuracy, real-time needle servoing in response to moving targets, and improved cannulation success rates compared to manual techniques. Multi-analyte detection was then demonstrated on the blood analyzer through white blood cell counting using a bulk-cell analysis approach, and an absorption-based hemoglobin assay. Once translated, this technology has the potential to impact a number of clinical environments, including laboratory testing facilities, pediatric hospitals, oncology care centers, and emergency settings. The underlying technological advancements cover a spectrum of research disciplines, including hematology and diagnostic medicine, optics and microfluidics, as well as robotics and medical device development.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Max Loeb Balte