Authors: Jency R. Rajan, 1.,  David S. Gibson, 1.

Affiliations: 1. Personalised Medicine Centre, School of Medicine, Ulster University, C-TRIC Building, Altnagelvin Hospital, Glenshane Road, Derry~Londonderry, United Kingdom, BT47 6SB.

Background/ Introduction: Routine blood monitoring in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) often requires repeated clinic visits and venous blood sampling, creating burden for patients and healthcare systems. Remote blood collection technologies can support decentralised monitoring and improve accessibility; however, usability, sample quality, and concordance with standard venous sampling must be established. The BloodTrackR Usability and Concordance Study (BUCS) aims to evaluate the usability of the BloodTrackR home blood collection platform and assess concordance between blood samples collected remotely and standard venous blood samples.

Material & Methods: Adults with rheumatoid arthritis are being recruited to use the BloodTrackR device independently at home following either online or in-person training. Participants collect a finger-prick blood sample using the BloodTrackR device, while a paired venous blood sample is collected by a phlebotomist on the same day for comparison. Participant usability, acceptability, and user experience are being assessed through questionnaires and follow-up discussions. BloodTrackR integrates plasma-based sampling with automatic time and date stamping, temperature monitoring during sample transport, Bluetooth-enabled app connectivity, and digital symptom tracking to support sample traceability and quality assurance.

Results: The study is currently ongoing. Development of the BloodTrackR device, companion application, and quality management systems has been completed. Current activities include participant recruitment, device optimisation, and usability testing. The study will generate early evidence on the usability, feasibility, and analytical concordance of remote blood collection in people living with rheumatoid arthritis.

Conclusion: BUCS aims to provide early evidence supporting remote blood collection for decentralised monitoring in rheumatoid arthritis. Findings are expected to support future implementation of patient-centred remote monitoring pathways and support wider adoption of remote blood collection technologies in clinical research and healthcare while reducing patient burden and improving accessibility.