Edition 6: June 2023

New Resource for Microsampling at Home!

Applying new products and tools in your research or clinical program can be stressful. However, with the right resources, the process is simplified.?Neoteryx, the microsampling brand of Trajan Scientific and Medical?aims to simplify biological sample collection and processing for scientific and medical customers in pharmaceutical development, clinical research, personalized medicine and related industries, enabling them to make advances that positively impact human health. Our?microsampling tools?and devices facilitate remote specimen collection by anyone, anywhere, anytime. Our products are designed for ease-of-use, comfort, convenience, and simplified logistics for sample transport at reduced costs.?The Mitra? device is based on volumetric absorptive microsampling for precise, fixed-volume, remote blood collection using the original, patented VAMS??technology. We gathered feedback from Mitra users telling us that, once they understand how to use the device correctly, it is quite easy for them to self-collect quality blood samples using a quick finger-stick method. However, for people new to finger-stick sampling, we’re introducing a new resource. People using the Mitra device and Mitra Sample Collection Kit to self-collect blood samples at home will find that the instructions for use (IFU) included in the kit will walk them through each step. For those who need extra guidance on correct sampling, our microsampling team has created a new resource sheet called Guidelines for Mitra? Sample Collection, which includes a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS) and helpful answers. This new resource is intended to supplement the instructions that are included in each kit.

The new FAQS guideline can be viewed online and downloaded as a hardcopy from a page on our Neoteryx.com website called “Mitra with VAMS Resources.” On that page, users can browse different documents and view videos to help with sample collection using the Mitra with VAMS device. Also available is product literature, such as a?specification sheet, which users may find helpful. The videos provide easy-to-follow visual steps from preparation and set-up through how to take a sample, and how to collect a correct vs. incorrect sample.

To view Mitra resources, follow?the link

How Microsampling Improves Clinical Research

In the past, clinical research relied on traditional venipuncture blood collection in a clinic or lab setting to gather samples from study participants. A newer method for blood collection is remote finger-stick microsampling, which allows anyone to collect tiny, “micro-sized,” blood samples in any setting – at home, work, or out in the field. Remote microsampling with a finger-stick is a suitable blood collection method for remote research studies or?decentralized clinical trials. It has been gaining traction in the research field for several years but accelerated in 2020 during the COVID-19 Pandemic, when many people were stuck at home for lockdowns and quarantines. Finger-stick (or heel-stick) microsampling is?a user-friendly process that relies on portable technology like DBS cards, or volumetric microsampling tools like the Mitra? device?or?hemaPEN??to enable remote sample collection. Researchers use these devices to conduct field studies in low-resource regions or send them in sample collection kits to their study participants at home for self-collection of samples. Microsampling devices, supplies, and instructions on how to use the product are included in the sample collection kits. After collecting their own samples, the patients or study participants seal the sampled devices into the silver foil specimen bag, which fits inside the provided mailing envelope. The samples can then be sent to the lab from the nearest mailbox, using standard mail.

Remote specimen collection with microsampling enables clinical studies to be run in an entirely new way. Some of the benefits include convenience, comfort, and cost savings. Study participants and patients have the convenience of sampling at home, which saves them a trip to the research facility or clinic. A benefit of Neoteryx microsampling products from Trajan includes their safety and suitability for use on young or particularly vulnerable populations. This is because microsampling devices extract very low-volume samples from the study participant — just a few drops — in a minimally invasive way. The benefits of microsampling extend to researchers and clinical trial sponsors. Unlike traditional liquid blood samples, the blood microsamples collected remotely using?Mitra devices or the hemaPEN?do not require expensive shipping in dry ice or storage in refrigerated conditions. Microsamples will dry on or in the device, which can be stored and shipped at room temperature. No cold shipping is required. Once the sampled devices arrive in the lab, they will be analyzed as dried blood samples following a DBS workflow.

Remote microsampling?can provide enormous utility to researchers conducting clinical trials. This advanced yet simple sample collection method streamlines the traditional clinical research process and makes participation far easier for study volunteers. To illustrate all the ways in which remote microsampling can improve clinical research, we created an infographic called “Microsampling for Lower Costs in Decentralized Trials” that you may view by following?the link.

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