Hate needles? Massachusetts Institute of Technology engineers have developed a new device that could make painful needle injections a thing of the past. The device delivers a tiny, high-pressure jet of medicine through the skin without using a hypodermic needle.
The device, detailed in the journal Medical Engineering & Physics, can be programmed to deliver a range of doses of medicine to various depths, marking a significant improvement over similar commercially available needle-free injection systems.
"If you are afraid of needles and have to frequently self-inject, compliance can be an issue," said Catherine Hogan, a research scientist in MIT's Department of Mechanical Engineering and a member of the research team. "We think this kind of technology … gets around some of the phobias that people may have about needles."
The researchers said the technology may also help reduce the potential for hundreds of thousands of accidental needle-stick injuries among health care workers. In addition, it may help improve compliance among patients who avoid the discomfort of injecting themselves with drugs such as insulin.
A few alternatives to hypodermic needles already exist, such as nicotine patches release drugs through the skin. But such patches can only release limited types and amounts of medicine.