The study found very strong correlation between venous blood collection and capillary VAMS using Mitra devices for detecting SARS-CoV-2 spike antibodies, with samples remaining stable at room temperature for several months. This enables reliable at-home, patient-centric serological testing for large-scale community surveillance and vaccine studies.
This review found that decentralised, patient-centric home microsampling using Mitra devices is an effective alternative for COVID-19 serosurveillance and clinical trials, enabling high-quality self-collection without clinic visits.
Capillary blood collected by fingerstick with the Mitra volumetric absorptive microsampling device showed near identical sensitivity and specificity for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies compared with venous serum when analysed with the Roche Elecsys assay. This validation enables decentralised, patient-centric serology testing for remote or at-home use and large-scale community seroprevalence studies.
VAMS capillary blood showed strong agreement with venous serum for measuring anti-influenza antibodies and remained stable for three weeks at room temperature. When volunteers performed finger-stick sampling at home, their results were highly consistent with on-site collection by study personnel.
This review found that volumetric microsampling devices, such as Mitra, HemaPEN, HemaXis DB10, and Tasso-M20, overcome haematocrit bias, whilst Telimmune plasma separation cards enable direct plasma collection without centrifugation. These technologies support patient-centric, decentralised sampling, though the authors note that clinical validation remains limited across different drugs and patient populations.