Scientists at King's College London have developed a DIY blood-testing machine called Algocyte that can flag early signs of conditions ranging from cancer to nutrient deficiencies from a single finger-prick sample, with results appearing on a smartphone app within five minutes. The device is already being considered for use within the NHS.
A Daily Mail journalist became the first reporter in Britain to try the machine, testing it at the London Institute for Healthcare Engineering under the guidance of the experts behind it.
The testing device is an unassuming white box weighing less than 2kg and standing roughly the height of two iPhones. A lancet, the same small finger-pricking tool used by diabetics to check their blood sugar, draws a small sample of blood, which is collected in a tiny cartridge and slotted into the machine for analysis.
Two separate readings are needed to analyse the different types of blood cells, a process that took no more than 10 minutes in total during the trial. Results were then sent to a paired smartphone app within about 25 minutes, in a report the journalist described as easy to read, with each measurement clearly explained. The trial results showed no sign of abnormality or concern.
How Algocyte compares with other tests
Dr Hector Zenil, founder of Algocyte and Associate Professor in Healthcare Engineering at King's College London, said that if the device were used within the health service, results would first be sent to the patient's clinician. He said there were no similar devices currently on the market.
"We have two competitors, one in the US and one in the UK," Dr Zenil said. "But they are only able to analyse three or four details in the blood, while ours looks at 11."
Many NHS blood tests look for the same 11 key markers, which identify abnormalities linked to cancer and infection, as well as deficiencies such as anaemia. Together, the measurements provide information about red blood cells, which carry oxygen around the body, white blood cells, which help fight infection and disease, and platelets, which allow the blood to clot.
Building a picture of health over time
As readings build up over time, the app creates a personalised picture of a user's health, plotting changes on graphs and flagging potentially worrying trends, including signs of disease such as cancer, before they develop. Dr Zenil said future versions of the test could also monitor liver toxicity, which he said would be key for cancer patients.
"The NHS has a mandate to try to keep people at home, with things like virtual wards and community hubs," Dr Zenil said. "This is aligned with this mandate to properly monitor people and reduce potential high-cost events like sepsis, for example."
The device has already received a UKCA mark, meaning it meets British health, safety and environmental standards. Dr Zenil said he and his team were in talks with Oxford University Hospitals about putting it to use, with discussions also under way with care homes and an eye clinic interested in using the technology to monitor patients.
Ultimately, Dr Zenil wants Algocyte to be used privately by patients carrying out blood tests at home, where he hopes it will eventually be available to buy for around £1,000.
Limits of the technology
Paid-for DIY blood test kits are not new in Britain, but many require samples to be sent to a laboratory for analysis, which can cause lengthy delays. Dr Zenil said Algocyte measures more blood markers than any rival test, but in its current form does not offer exactly what a blood test performed in an NHS hospital does.
Clinical tests are far more comprehensive, analysing 50 or more markers of disease in a single blood sample. A full blood count, one of the most commonly performed tests, analyses between 15 and 20. Doctors can also issue highly targeted blood tests that look for a collection of specific abnormalities pointing to a particular diagnosis.
For now, Dr Zenil sees his invention as most useful for keeping tabs on a diagnosed problem or flagging signs that a person's health is in decline, giving patients the chance to make lifestyle changes or seek medication before becoming seriously unwell.
"At the moment the whole system is reactive," he said. "All drugs are designed for when you are already ill, not for prevention. And the whole hospital system is built that way. Everybody gets paid when someone is already ill. So how many people go through the hospitals, how many GP appointments, instead of preventing them in the first place. With a device like this in your home, a person could pick up any possible deviation."
