For many patients, the hassle begins after the GP appointment ends: arranging the blood test.
What was once a straightforward next step can now mean juggling phone lines, booking websites and health apps before an appointment is finally secured — followed by the challenge of tracking down whichever community clinic has recently opened nearby.
Then comes the familiar scramble to find a weekday slot that does not clash with work, childcare or the rest of daily life.
But that drawn-out process may soon become a thing of the past.
British researchers have created a do-it-yourself blood-testing device they believe could help detect early warning signs of conditions ranging from cancer to vitamin and nutrient deficiencies — all from a patient’s own home.
Called Algocyte, the machine was developed by scientists at King’s College London and is already being explored for potential use within the NHS.
Using only a finger-prick sample of blood, the system sends results to a linked smartphone app in as little as five minutes, with the longest wait expected to be around 25 minutes.
I became the first journalist in Britain to put it to the test.
The Daily Mail visited the London Institute for Healthcare Engineering to test Algocyte, a DIY blood-testing device
At the London Institute for Healthcare Engineering, the team behind Algocyte walked me through how the technology works.
At first glance, the device is deceptively simple: a plain white box weighing under 2kg and standing at about the height of two iPhones stacked together.
The process starts with a lancet — the small finger-prick tool familiar to people with diabetes who monitor their blood sugar — to produce a tiny blood sample.
My blood is then collected in a tiny cartridge that slots into the machine, before the reading takes place.
The experts explain that two separate readings must be completed in order to analyse the different types of blood cells. This process took no more than 10 minutes in total.
Within about 25-minutes, the results are beamed to a phone through the paired app.
The report is easy to read and clearly sets out what each measurement represents.
Thankfully, my results show no sign of abnormality or concern.
Dr Hector Zenil, founder of Algocyte and Associate Professor in Healthcare Engineering at King’s College London, said that, if used within the health service, results would first be sent to the patient’s clinician.
And he says that there are no similar devices currently on the market.
‘We have two competitors, one in the US and one in the UK,’ says Dr Zenil. ‘But they are only able to analyse three or four details in the blood, while ours looks at 11.’
The Algocyte machine weighs less than 2kg and stands roughly the height of two iPhones
Many NHS blood tests look for the same 11 key ‘markers’, which identify abnormalities linked to cancer and infection, as well as deficiencies like anaemia.
Together, those 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.
As readings build over time, the app creates a personalised picture of a user’s health – plotting changes on graphs and flagging potentially worrying trends of diseases, like cancer, before they develop.
In the future, tests could go as far as monitoring toxicity in the liver, which Dr Zenil claims 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,’ says Dr Zenil.
‘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 says he and his team are in talks with Oxford University Hospitals about putting it to use.
Discussions are also under way with care homes and an eye clinic interested in using the tech to monitor patients.
Ultimately, however, Dr Zenil wants Algocyte to be used privately by patients who could carry out blood tests at home, where it would be available to purchase for around £1000 in the future.
Dr Hector Zenil and his colleague Santiago are pictured with the DIY blood test device
The smartphone connected to the machine shows that the results are being calculated
Paid-for DIY blood test kits are not new in Britain, but many require the samples to be sent to a lab for analysis, which can result in lengthy delays.
And Dr Zenil says Algocyte measures more blood markers than any rival test.
But, in its current form, the technology doesn’t offer exactly what a blood test performed in an NHS hospital does.
Clinical tests are much more comprehensive, analysing 50 or more markers of disease in a single blood sample.
A full blood count, for instance, which is one of the most common test performed, analyses 15 to 20.
Additionally, doctors can issue highly targeted blood tests that look for a collection of specific abnormalities that would indicate a certain diagnosis.
For now, Dr Zenil sees his invention as most useful for keeping tabs on a diagnosed problem, or flagging signs that health is in decline.
This would present opportunities for patients to make lifestyle changes or seek medication before becoming seriously unwell, he suggests.
‘At the moment the whole system is reactive,’ he says.
‘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.’
