Blood microsampling,
without the venous draw.
A few microlitres of capillary blood, collected at home or at the point of care and returned to an accredited laboratory (the matrix that carries most of the menu, finally freed from the needle and the draw chair).
What is blood microsampling?
Blood microsampling is the precisely-metered collection of a small volume of capillary blood (typically tens of microlitres from a fingertip or upper arm) returned to an ISO 15189-accredited laboratory under documented chain of custody. It replaces the venous draw and the phlebotomy appointment with a device used at home or at the point of care, stabilisation matched to the analyte, and software that lands structured results in the lab.
It is the flagship of microsampling because blood carries the broadest clinical menu (routine chemistry, metabolic and cardiovascular markers, many hormones, drug levels and serology all live here). Move blood collection out of the clinic and most of the test catalogue moves with it.
The needle was
the bottleneck.
Clinic-and-needle dependency quietly caps everything downstream. It limits who enrols, how often you can sample, how diverse a cohort you can reach, and what each data point costs, and a large share of adults actively avoid blood draws. Capillary microsampling removes that ceiling.
No appointment, no travel, no phlebotomist. Recruitment widens to people a clinic footprint never reaches, and participants stay in because sampling fits their life.
A draw chair is a hard limit on how often you can measure. A home device makes serial and longitudinal sampling routine (trajectories, not snapshots).
Stripping out the visit lowers the cost per sample and opens cohorts across geography and demographics that clinic-bound studies systematically miss.
Validated use is already published across at-home HbA1c, pediatric pharmacokinetics, therapeutic drug monitoring, anti-doping and decentralised trials, and remote programmes consistently report high sample-return compliance.
Dried or liquid.
Capillary blood travels to the lab in one of two forms, and the choice is governed by one question: does the assay tolerate drying, or does it need the sample intact? That single decision drives the whole logistics picture.
Most of the menu,
and what stays venous.
Honesty matters more than reach here. A large part of the routine catalogue is well-suited to validated capillary collection. A defined set of tests still belongs in a venous tube, and we say so up front.
| Well-suited to capillary | Stays venous, for now |
|---|---|
| Routine chemistry panels | Coagulation & clotting studies |
| HbA1c & glycaemic markers | ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate) |
| Lipids & ApoB | Blood cultures |
| Vitamin D & micronutrients | Cellular morphology & blood film |
| Many hormones | Large-volume or pooled assays |
| CRP & inflammatory markers | Tests needing whole-cell integrity |
| TDM & small-molecule panels | Anything requiring >1 mL serum/plasma |
Suitability is established per analyte through method validation before any patient-facing reporting (the table is a guide to where capillary is strong, not a substitute for an assay-level decision with your laboratory).
Dried vs liquid,
how to choose.
Start from the assay and work outward. The analyte’s stability when dried decides the family; volume needs and shipping reality settle the format.
| Dried | Liquid capillary | |
|---|---|---|
| Formats | VAMS, dried blood spot | Whole capillary, plasma-separated |
| Cold chain | None, ambient | Where the assay requires |
| Volume | Microlitre, metered | Larger, whole sample |
| Best for | TDM, HbA1c, screening, broad chemistry | Assays that don’t survive drying |
| Logistics | Standard tracked return | Handling / controlled-temperature |
| Default? | Yes, first choice | The managed exception |
As a rule: choose dried unless the analyte forces liquid. Dried removes the most expensive, most failure-prone part of remote collection (the cold chain) so it is the default, and liquid is reserved for assays that genuinely need an intact sample. See how we protect each →
From a fingertip
to a signed result.
A home-collected sample is only clinical-grade if it arrives as the sample the patient gave. Every step carries identity, integrity and a record, the audit trail that lets a result be trusted for a medical decision.
The patient draws a metered capillary sample with the device, ID-matched and sealed tamper-evident at the moment of collection, with on-screen collection guidance to get it right first time.
Dried formats ship ambient by tracked return; liquid travels stabilised, controlled-temperature where the assay requires, every leg logged.
An ISO 15189-accredited laboratory accessions the sample, runs the validated assay, and our software lands clean, structured results in your system.
Humans Nexus integrates accredited laboratories (we never run, or compete with, a lab). We provide the regulated kit, the clinical-grade logistics and the software that connect the patient to the laboratory you already trust.
Whoever runs the test.
Infrastructure for healthcare and life sciences. Our partners reach the patient, and we never sell directly. Pharma & decentralised trials →
Good to know.
Is capillary blood as accurate as a venous draw?
For a validated panel, yes. Capillary and dried formats are designed to deliver clinical-grade results from microlitre volumes, with stabilisation and controlled-temperature transport protecting analyte integrity end to end. Suitability is established per analyte through method validation before any patient-facing reporting.
Which blood tests can be collected at home?
A large part of the routine menu (chemistry panels, HbA1c, lipids and ApoB, vitamin D, many hormones, CRP and therapeutic drug monitoring). A defined set still belongs in a venous tube: coagulation, ESR, blood cultures, cellular morphology and large-volume assays.
Should I choose dried or liquid?
Choose dried unless the analyte forces liquid. Dried formats (VAMS and dried blood spot) ship at ambient temperature with no cold chain and are the default. Liquid capillary is reserved for assays that need an intact sample, and may require controlled-temperature transport.
Does home blood collection need refrigeration?
Usually not. Dried formats are stable at ambient temperature by design and ship by standard tracked return. Liquid samples travel stabilised, with controlled-temperature transport applied only where the assay requires it.
Does Humans Nexus run the laboratory?
No. We integrate ISO 15189-accredited laboratories and never run or compete with a lab. We provide the regulated kit, clinical-grade logistics and the platform that connect the patient to the accredited laboratory.
How much blood does a microsample need?
Typically tens of microlitres, a fraction of a venous tube. The exact volume depends on the device and the assay; metered formats capture a fixed, known volume to support quantitation.
The research library.
No papers match these filters.
External links open an open-access full text where one exists, otherwise the publisher or PubMed record. These citations describe the published evidence for the collection formats and devices (not claims about specific Humans Nexus assays, which are validated per analyte and per laboratory).
Build on blood microsampling.
Talk to us about putting remote, clinical-grade blood collection on your platform.