Needle-less technology in the medical field is not new but till now it was using compressed air to inject the medicine. But now a team of researchers from MIT has developed a technology which uses magnetic energy rather than using gas cartridges.

It uses a “Lorentz-force actuator” (a small, powerful magnet surrounded by a coil of wire that’s attached to a piston inside the drug ampoule) which works on electric current. It creates a high-pressure jet and injects the medicine through a microscopically narrow nozzle. This stream of medicine penetrates the skin. It can deliver medicine in controlled volumes at variable depths.

It injects at a speed comparable to the speed of sound. The velocity of the drug injection could be varied during the process due to its high current sensitivity. By changing the current the drug could be injected at higher speed to pierce through the skin and then speed could be reduced inside the body. Amazing!

The benefits of this technology are unlimited. No longer kids (and some adults) would be scared of needles. Diabetic patients that need to take injections regularly by themselves would feel more ease. The risk of diseases caused by contaminated needles would be highly reduced.

Ian Hunter, the Professor of Mechanical Engineering, explains “Because the device can also take a drug in powdered form, it vibrates at such a rate that the drug behaves as though it were a liquid being injected through the skin, administering injections in developing countries will be easier, as powders require no refrigeration or cooling.”

This new technology isn’t available right now but would be available soon.

Comments

0 comments