Can you prick your finger in space? scientists find out
NCT ID NCT06431984
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 26, 2026
Summary
This study tested whether healthy volunteers with minimal training could collect their own blood using a finger prick during brief periods of weightlessness on parabolic flights. The goal was to see if the blood samples were good enough to measure caffeine levels. Thirty participants took part, and the study focused on how well the self-sampling worked in microgravity compared to on the ground.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this method could enable simple blood sampling in space, helping researchers understand how drugs work in astronauts.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early feasibility study with only 30 participants. It tests a method, not a treatment, and may not work in real spaceflight conditions.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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30 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Mar 2023
- Finished
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Apr 2024
- Lead sponsor
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A government agency
The lead sponsor is a government body.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 70 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Be affiliated to a social security scheme or benefit from such a scheme. * Have obtained a medical certificate stating that they are fit for parabolic flights. * Be aged between 18 and 70 * Be in good health: no chronic treatment that could interact with the metabolism of caffeine, no progressive disease * Must not have any contraindications to taking caffeine (30 to 100 mg). Volunteers will also be asked not to consume caffeine (coffee, chocolate, energy drinks, tea, cola, etc.) in the 24 hours preceding the experiment. Exclusion Criteria: * Be the subject of a legal protection measure (safeguard of justice, curatorship or guardianship) * suffer from haematophobia (irrational fear of blood) * Have a current infectious disease, particularly viral * Have an active chronic illness * Have a high usual intake of caffeine (\>4 espressos, \>4 cups of tea, \>100g dark chocolate per day) * Total intolerance to all forms of caffeine * Smoke more than 20 cigarettes a day * Have weaned themselves off smoking for less than a month * Have a history of severe Raynaud's phenomenon * Have a history of naupathy * Suffering from naupathy during a flight
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Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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AIRBUS A 310 - Zero-G
Mérignac, 33700, France
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.