Startups that aim to cut back on the use of needles for blood draws may face some skepticism these days—the unfortunate legacy of troubled unicorn Theranos.
But Velano Vascular, a tiny San Francisco outfit launched in 2012, bears little resemblance to Theranos, which aspires to perform diagnostic tests using blood drops lanceted from the capillaries of a finger.
To begin with, Velano’s invention taps into the same, scientifically uncontroversial venous blood (i.e., blood from veins, not capillaries) that traditional syringes tap into. In addition, its device is fully FDA-approved. Moreover, the company’s founders—CEO Eric Stone and president Pitou Devgon, M.D.—are willing to show you how its device works, something Theranos was never willing to permit.