Mewonders why Google is developing this. Sure, Google is pretty diverse, but medical technology still seems a bit out-of-scope.
Questions of corporate motivation aside, however, this will never replace the majority of blood draws. The patent claims it is only intended for small samples, so if the lab needs more than this device can reliably extract in one go, they'll do it the old-fashioned way. Additionally, there's a high likelihood of hemolysis (rupturing of red blood cells, which releases haemoglobin and the rest of the contents of the cytoplasm into the blood plasma). The patent does not appear to address that issue (perhaps I just missed it, but I saw no references), but my wife (who is an ICU/ER nurse) tells me it is problem. That also severely restricts the range of tests for which blood drawn by this method would be suitable.
Google (Alphabet) has an entire division devoted to health and biotechnology: Calico. Like most mature technology companies, they tackle a wide variety of problems well outside their core revenue business.
Two divisions, actually: Calico and Google Life Sciences (where I work). We're making all sorts of really cool stuff, like glucose sensing patches for diabetes maintenance[1], solar-powered contact-lenses[2]. Calico is focused on life extension, GLS is much more practical.
That's cool! Can you tell us why Google is putting resources into the medical area? How does this pay off in the business sense? Are Calico/Google Life Sciences profitable?
The opposite - it makes the most sense for life sciences; it would seem to dovetail well with their existing projects: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Life_Sciences
In particular, the contact lenses for glucose sensing, and the "disease-detecting nanoparticle platform," whatever that means. All of these have a flavor of less-invasive monitoring and diagnostics.
They are also working on a glucose-tracking contact lens. Continuous glucose monitoring is one of the last components of the "Artificial Pancreas" that could be employed by type 1 diabetics like me. Using the Dexcom CGM system with an insulin pump, an rpi, and Nighthawk, some actually have an artificial pancreas (skirting the FDA's approval latency). I would imagine Google sees this as a huge opportunity to affect a HUGE community with a chronic condition and demonstrate their prowess in yet another industry.
I presume the most practical application of this would be glucose testing for diabetics. There are many people who would prefer not to be sticking their fingertips all the time.
I'm diabetic (T1) and would kill for an Android Wear device that logged my blood sugar level. It would be life-changing for me. Even though I can calculate (usually very accurately) what my level is based on the last measurement and what I've done and eaten since, knowing for sure and having a full log would relieve some pressure and remove any doubt I have, whilst saving my fingertips.
I imagine this as integrated into some kind of Android Health or Android Fitness program, capable of detecting glucose levels for diabetics, a competitor to Apple's Health app.
Questions of corporate motivation aside, however, this will never replace the majority of blood draws. The patent claims it is only intended for small samples, so if the lab needs more than this device can reliably extract in one go, they'll do it the old-fashioned way. Additionally, there's a high likelihood of hemolysis (rupturing of red blood cells, which releases haemoglobin and the rest of the contents of the cytoplasm into the blood plasma). The patent does not appear to address that issue (perhaps I just missed it, but I saw no references), but my wife (who is an ICU/ER nurse) tells me it is problem. That also severely restricts the range of tests for which blood drawn by this method would be suitable.