The Risk Underlying Rural Areas Longitudinal Study (RURAL) has selected HemoScreen, a miniaturized, portable hematology analyzer from PixCell Medical, Yokneam Ilit, Israel, as part of is research to gain insight into the specific health-related concerns of the population in the rural southeastern United States. The RURAL Study is funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

Led by researchers from 16 US institutions, the RURAL study aims to understand health concerns specific to rural communities in the South, particularly related to increased rates of heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders. Focusing on ten rural counties in Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi, the research team will examine about 4,600 residents to study different aspects of their health.

“We are aiming to better understand the health concerns facing people in rural communities who don’t have the same healthcare access as their urban counterparts. Our research initiative aims to assess people’s health right at their doorsteps,” says Jon Peter Durda, PhD, faculty scientist at the Larner College of Medicine, University of Vermont. “Rural residents often encounter barriers to critical healthcare services and restricted ability to receive the care they need, including limited access to clinics and labs within a reasonable proximity. The HemoScreen will be a key piece of research equipment in our cohort study.”

RURAL plans to deploy HemoScreen hematology analyzers within the Mobile Examination Unit lab to do phenotypic measurements in a nonclinical research setting in the rural South, and to test the performance characteristics of theHemoScreen in this setting. The blood count data collected will be analyzed as part of the broader study to better understand risk and resilience factors that may be specific to members of rural communities.

The HemoScreen device is FDA cleared to perform =complete blood counts with intended use at the point of care.HemoScreen is the only FDA-cleared 5-part differential, cartridge-based hematology analyzer indicated for use at the point of care.

“Portable and reliable blood analyzers are essential for understanding people’s health. For those living in rural areas with limited access to lab-grade diagnostic devices, HemoScreen can play an important role in gathering hematological data to support the research efforts of the RURAL cohort study,” says Avishay Bransky, PHD, CEO ofPixCell Medical. “One of the crucial differentiators of the HemoScreen for this study in particular is its portability. Most standard hematology analyzers cannot be transported as they require constant maintenance and recalibration—not so with the HemoScreen. We expect to gather high-quality health insights from the HemoScreen’s deployment with the RURAL Cohort study.”

For more information, visit PixCell Medical and RURAL.