Neoteryx LLC Supplies Microsampling Devices for Breakthrough Home Monitoring Initiative, Making Therapeutic Drug Monitoring Fun and Easy for Pediatric Transplant Patients and Their Families

At-home blood sampling streamlines the process of therapeutic drug monitoring and creates comfort and emotional safety for children

Newswise — TORRANCE, Calif., Nov. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Neoteryx LLC, inventor of Volumetric Absorptive Microsampling (VAMS™) technology, is proud to supply its Mitra® microsampling devices to the Nottingham Paediatric Nephrology team for use in their kidney home monitoring kit which enables easy at-home sampling for therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) for pediatric patients.

Created by Monique Burgin, specialist nurse, and Jon Jin (JJ) Kim, pediatric nephrologist, at Nottingham University Hospital, the take-home kits are designed to facilitate easier therapeutic drug monitoring of tacrolimus and creatinine. Made specifically for pediatric transplant patients, the kits include all the materials needed to collect a blood sample at home, with fun elements such as "finger-pricking good" lancets and "well done" stickers for successful collections.

The Mitra microsampling device, based on Volumetric Absorptive Microsampling (VAMS™) technology, is easy to use and requires minimal training to collect a dependable blood specimen. It allows quantitative, volumetrically accurate capillary blood collection anywhere, anytime, by almost anyone, with minimal training. Patients or their caregivers can take their own blood samples from a finger-prick and easily ship them to a lab, where testing can be performed.

"These home motoring kits make microsampling easy and fun for families," says Dr. JJ Kim. "I've seen the potential that Mitra technology has for facilitating remote sampling, and I created these kits to help bring that into a pediatric context. When I see how much easier it makes things for patients, when they can self-test and take agency in the process, it really hits home."

One patient who directly benefits from the initiative is 14-year-old Josh Knapp, a kidney transplant patient living in England.

"During a routine clinic appointment, we were told about the home testing initiative and the Mitra microsampling device, how it works, and how to use it," says Caroline Knapp, Josh's mother. "We were asked if we would like to try it. Josh, of course, being the typical 14-year-old, with the prospect of trying something totally new that could lessen hospital visits and make blood sampling a lot easier, jumped at the chance. We can now sit at home and do a sample using the device, send it off, and get an accurate result without having to leave the comfort of our own home or Josh missing school – no driving for miles for blood tests."

According to patient satisfaction data from Neoteryx, a whopping 93% of surveyed patients who used our microsampling devices said they would be "likely" or "very likely" to choose microsampling over venipuncture were they making the choice on behalf of a child. This speaks to the powerful applications for microsampling technology in the fraught realm of pediatric care.

"The advantages of using Mitra devices and microsampling technology in the context of therapeutic drug monitoring are becoming more and more apparent, especially in pediatrics, where an improved patient experience is paramount," said Fasha Mahjoor, CEO of Neoteryx. "Neoteryx is honored and excited to partner and pioneer pediatric microsampling, and remote sampling for TDM, in partnership with great innovators such as Dr. Kim and this home monitoring initiative."

The inclusion of Mitra microsampling devices in pediatric transplant patients follows on the heels of recent research by Dr. Christophe Stove who, along with his team, recently validated the use of Neoteryx's VAMS™ technology for at-home blood collection in monitoring HbA1c levels of pediatric patients with diabetes.

About Neoteryx

Neoteryx LLC, based in Southern California, is focused on delivering simple, quantitative and automatable microsampling solutions for biological samples. Our class I exempt medical device, The Mitra Microsampler, facilitates convenient specimen collection and transportation of blood and other biological fluids to improve animal and human welfare, reduce laboratory costs and enable new models of care. Neoteryx's customers work to advance pharmaceutical development, personalized medicine, biotechnology research and clinical diagnostics. For more information, visit www.neoteryx.com or follow @neoteryx on Twitter.

The Mitra Microsampler class I medical device is for direct specimen collection and transportation of blood and other biological fluids. It is not specific to any clinical test and is not for use in diagnostic procedures. Use of the Mitra Microsampler in Laboratory Developed Tests (LDTs) requires further processing including the establishment of performance characteristics and successful validation by the laboratory in a manner consistent with CLIA requirements.

Contact: 
Cathy Cordova 
Director of Marketing, Neoteryx 
[email protected]  
310-787-8747 x104



 

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