Search firm Google already has your clicks – now it wants your blood.It has filed a patent for a “needle-free blood draw” system, which could be perfect for those who are squeamish about the traditional method.’
A small barrel would be placed against the skin, and a surge of gas would then be pushed inside it.
This causes a microparticle inside the barrel to then pierce the skin.
Blood that seeps out would then be sucked up into the negative pressure barrel.
In the patent application Google said: “Such an application might be used to draw a small amount of blood, for example, for a glucose test.”
That suggests it could be useful for people with diabetes.
The patent papers say it could be used as a hand-held tool, or stay on a person’s body over a period of time as a wearable device.
Google holds patents on a variety of a different ideas and not all will make it into production.
However, its interest in life sciences suggest it could be an area that it wants to expand into.
In October this year it spun off Google Life Sciences as a division of parent company Alphabet.
Projects currently being worked on by the team include a spoon for people with tremors, contact lenses that let people check their glucose levels, and a disease-detecting nanoparticle platform.
