Scientists at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, US have created an automated blood drawing and testing device that provides rapid results, potentially improving the workflow in hospitals and other health-related institutions to allow health care practitioners to spend more time treating patients.

The device includes an image-guided robot for drawing blood from veins, a sample-handling module and a centrifuge-based blood analyzer. The device provides highly accurate results from a white blood cell test, using a blood-like fluid spiked with fluorescent microbeads.

The testing used artificial arms with plastic tubes that served as blood vessels. The device could provide rapid test results at bedsides or in ambulances, emergency rooms, clinics and doctors' offices.

According to the scientific team, the device can be extended to incorporate a broader panel of tests in the future.