For more information please visit: www.alphalabs.co.uk/tasso Applications As a patient-centric, ‘at home’ selfsampling device, Tasso+ has the potential to streamline patient diagnostic pathways, with prospective applications in remote health monitoring and population screening programmes. With laboratory collaboration, Tasso+ has been validated for an extensive range of standard analytes for cardiovascular health, kidney functions, heart performance, and hormone levels, as well as HbA1c for diabetes monitoring. Tasso+ is compatible with all BD microtainers®, which can be used on analysers, such as the Cobas c111, DCA Vantage, Afinion 2 and Quo-Test. Monitoring Patients with Diabetes Untreated diabetes has severe health implications and wider socio-economic impacts, with complications such as cardiovascular disease, strokes, amputations, and blindness debilitating for patients, reducing quality of life. As a blood test, HbA1c indicates average blood sugar levels over the past 3 months, providing a useful biomarker for patients managing their diabetes. Diabetes UK recommend patients test their HbA1c status 4 times a year, to monitor disease progression and treatment efficacy2. Patients living in remote regions, in full-time employment or with reduced mobility, highly benefit from the convenience of home sampling, condensing the number of GP appointments required for diagnosis and monitoring of their diabetes. The simplicity, ease of use and minimised pain offered by Tasso+ encourages repeated home testing, enhancing patient engagement. Overall, remote testing services provide a platform for reaching equality in healthcare, by reducing the social impact on patients managing their diabetes. Cardiovascular Disease Screening A quarter of all deaths in the UK are attributed to cardiovascular disease (CVD). CVD is denounced as the largest cause of premature mortality in economically deprived regions, and overall, the second largest killer in the UK, affecting the lives of 6.4 million individuals. Consequently, early detection and treatment of CVD is one of the most significant strategies for helping patients live longer and healthier lives. Cholesterol levels are a major risk factor related to CVD, with increased testing a key longterm strategy for the NHS. The ability to sample cholesterol at home expands the potential reach of screening services to targeted populations. With rollout of this programme targeting populations aged 40-75 who are often less familiar with self-sampling blood, wide-scale usability is essential. Therefore, Tasso+, as a user-friendly intuitive device, is ideal for facilitating participation, enhancing return rates and reducing self-sampling errors, providing accurate results for patients, laboratory scientists and physicians alike. User Experience of Capillary Blood Collection Methods - Tasso (Upper Arm) versus Finger Prick Data courtesy of Knitza et al.1 References: 1. Knitza, Johannes et al. “Accuracy and tolerability of self-sampling of capillary blood for analysis of inflammation and autoantibodies in rheumatoid arthritis patients-results from a randomized controlled trial.” Arthritis research & therapy vol. 24,1 125. 25 May. 2022, doi:10.1186/s13075-022-02809-7 2.“What is hba1c?” Diabetes UK. doi: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/ guide-to-diabetes/managing-your-diabetes/hba1c 3.“Evaluation of Tasso+ Blood Self-Collection for Clinical Diagnostic Assessment of Various Biomarkers”. ClinicalTrials.gov, August. 2023, doi: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05852925 4.Dubé, Karine et al. “Participant experiences using novel homebased blood collection device for viral load testing in HIV cure trials with analytical treatment interruptions.” HIV research & clinical practice vol. 23,1 (2022): 76-90. 5. Vivian G. Oehler, Olga Sala-Torra, Qian Vicky Wu, Lan Beppu, Emily Welch, Erwin Berthier, Jerald P. Radich; Minimally Invasive Blood Sampling for BCR::ABL1 transcript Monitoring. Blood 2022; 140 (Supplement 1): 3883–3884. doi: https://doi.org/10.1182/ blood-2022-167799 Conclusion Advancements in at home sampling accelerates the potential to streamline patient pathways, by reducing the resource burden on phlebotomists, enhancing proactive monitoring and treatment of health conditions. Challenges towards the implementation of remote testing loom, such as navigating laboratory workflow transitions and streamlining data management. Fully remote trials pertaining to the clinical efficiencies of self-collection using Tasso are ongoing3. Nevertheless, the feasibility of patients regularly using Tasso+ for health monitoring is continuously being demonstrated in a variety of demographics, providing a beneficial solution for the shifting landscape of remote sampling provisions in healthcare4,5. www.alphalabs.co.uk © 2024 Copyright Alpha Laboratories Ltd. 9
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