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Needle Free Injections With Microjets
IZ Reloaded writes "Do you hate needles? In the near future, the fear of needles would be a thing of a past. Bioengineering students at the University of California, Berkeley have developed the MicroJet. It uses an electronic actuator that could one day propel vaccinations, insulin or other drugs through the skin of the patient - without the device even touching the skin - with far less pain than a hypodermic needle."
And they've had "needle-less" injectors around for a long while, however the current ones are expensive and rather inaccurate at dosing when compared to needles.
However, I must say I really don't care if they come out with a needle-less injector that works better. It's not the shots themselves that bother me, but rather the constant maintenance that people take for granted. I'd still need to do something. Right now I have a pump, and it's better than doing individual injections, but it's always with me. I'm waiting for the day when I no longer have to worry about this disease any longer because I've been cured.
Hypospray, anyone?
And trust me.. It is not exactly pain-free.
For some drugs, like those that should diffuse into the body slowly over time, transdermal diffusion devices already exist right now. A prime example of those is the nicotine patch, and I hear there are patches for diabetes too.
:-)
As for lots of micro-needles vs. one big needle, it might not be all that new: I seem to recall getting some vaccine shot at school when I was a kid, where the nurse used some ring-looking plastic thing she put on her middle finger, with the business end of the device being a small, round "nail-bed" in her palm, and she slammed me on the shoulder with it, which probably accounts for the ugly mark I have there at that spot too
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
I got vaccinated with an "air gun" back in the day. it hurts, probably as much as a needle. But you can do a whole group of people quickly, 'cause you don't need to change needles.
Sounds similar to the jetgun the military use to use. Does anyone know the difference?
Well, they're promising "far less pain" with this device.
Once upon a time, I had the misfortune to receive a yellow fever vaccination with one of the military's needleless injectors. It felt like some steroid-pumped baseball player had swung a bat at my shoulder. Nearly as bad as the pain was the gathering anticipation of the pain, as I watched the 200-odd people in line ahead of me get their shots.
It was used a lot later than the '70s. I joined the Navy in 1985 and I received a number of innoculations using these. I can't say for certain but organic ram suggests it continued until the mid '90s.
They weren't any less painful than a needle, but they were much quicker and they were foolproof. Literally anybody could use one. You just put it against the arm and pull the trigger.
I believe they were discontinued because of safety reasons. I believe they found out that there was a possibility of microdrops of blood being blasted back out of the skin, and then injected into the next person.
"The legitimate powers of government extend only to such acts as are injurious to others." Thomas Jefferson.
No, for me, it's the needle. I have an INTENSE fear of needles.
When I was younger, my mom got something (hepatitis maybe?), so they had to test the family. I was about 5 at the time. I go in and they attempt to draw blood from me. They couldn't find the vein. So what do they do? They keep trying. I ended up being pricked about 15 times in each arm, til my mom stopped it. Those fucking idiots scarred me for life by doing that and now I can't stand to be near needles. Whenever I need to have shots, I need to take something beforehand, either laughing gas, vikadin or something along those lines. A needle-free injection would help me A LOT.
Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin'.
The tetanus shot (or vaccine to be more accurate) contains something called an adjuvant that actually irritates the area where you receive the injection. This is to promote immunological activity to increase the effiacy of the shot. I took part in an experimental trial where they gave tetanus shots without the adjuvant and my arm didn't hurt at all.