Vaccine Patch Removes Needle Pain 250
wog777 writes "Researchers led by Mark Prausnitz of Georgia Institute of Technology reported their research on microneedles in Sunday's edition of Nature Medicine. A microneedle contains needles so small you don't even feel them. Attached to a patch like a Band-Aid, the little needles barely penetrate the skin before they dissolve and release their vaccine."
Re:Does it work in reverse? (Score:2, Informative)
Hmmmm (Score:2, Informative)
I remember seeing an article about this idea in a popular science magazine years and years ago. Glad to see it's still around for those who hate needles.
Re:Does it work in reverse? (Score:5, Informative)
Your average red blood cell is around 10 micrometers thick. White blood cells are even bigger. This would probably make the "needles" big enough to hurt like hell - so no, it would defeat the purpose. Besides, kids are the only ones who cry when getting a blood sample taken. But they'll cry when they see a stranger coming up to them in a white lab coat anyway, needle or not.
Re:Hypospray. (Score:5, Informative)
We already have hyposprays. They're called jet injectors. They actually predate star trek (they were invented in 1960) and have been used for decades for vaccinations, particularly polio vaccinations in Africa. A diabetic friend of mine also uses one for his insulin.
Re:Does it work in reverse? (Score:4, Informative)
I can assure you sir, that it is not just kids who cry at the thought of needles piercing their skin. As one with such a phobia I hope this technology makes it into practice ASAP.
press releases from universities are worth what? (Score:4, Informative)
odd how this story about good ole american know-how resembles this press release from an australian university from April?
http://www.uq.edu.au/news/index.html?article=21034
Re:Genius (Score:5, Informative)
What's the point of a single-use patch?
You have obviously never had to approach a screaming 2 year old with a needle in your hand. Besides the red face, the 120 decibels, and the snot everywhere, there's that look on the parents' faces that says "you only get one go".
No but seriously, there are all sorts of applications outside of pediatrics. For example palliative care - terminal patients who need regular medication can just use a patch instead of trying to find someone to inject them every 6 hours or so (ever tried injecting yourself? It can be done but it's not fun - especially when you're weak and/or dying and you can't really remember if you just did it or not). Senior citizens. Diabetics. The sky is the limit. This is something new, and the full implications of this technology haven't been explored yet.
Some details from the article... (Score:4, Informative)
The needles are conical, about 200m diameter by 650m long, with 10m radius of curvature at the tip. They are made from a biocompatible polymer, polyvinylpyrrolidone, and mostly dissolve after about five minutes (they are highly water-soluble). The manufacturing process can be done at 23C (using a mold), avoiding damage to sensitive biological molecules. Each patch held 3 g of vaccine.
For comparison purposes, human hair ranges in diameter from 20-200m.
Here's the article [nature.com], with some low-res pictures even for non-subscribers.
Re:Hypospray. (Score:5, Informative)
Because there is no needle(which is either an expensive FRU or a temptation to ill-equipped medical staff in the ass-end of nowhere to wash out and re-use until it is blunt), you can skip all the fancy western hospital one-time-use assemblies that would be impractical in the field; but avoid the cross-contamination that occurs if you share needles. Depending on the design, there might be a simple pneumatic tip that gets replaced each use; but it makes lining up an entire village somewhere and pumping them full of vaccine much more logistically feasible.
Re:Does it work in reverse? (Score:5, Informative)
Well if needles are a problem and you just need routine blood work, you could probably negotiate capillary puncture [google.co.cr] with your doctor, instead of a needle. That's done with a lancet - like a mini knife - that cuts you with a spring mechanism. It happens so fast you really don't feel any pain at all. It's usually used on small children but there's no reason why it won't work on an adult. No needles involved.
For injections, however, you're out of luck - sorry!
Re:Does it work in reverse? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Does it work in reverse? (Score:2, Informative)
People who suffer from vasovagal trypanophobia fear the sight, thought, or feeling of needles or needle-like objects. The primary symptom of vasovagal trypanophobia is vasovagal syncope, or fainting due to a decrease of blood pressure.
Re:Does it work in reverse? (Score:3, Informative)
Not a perfect solution; but they use those against anxiety and panic disorders for a reason...
Re:There's other uses too (Score:3, Informative)
"capable of synthesizing endogenous THC?"
Evolution is way ahead of you: endocannabinoids [wikipedia.org]
Re:Does it work in reverse? (Score:1, Informative)
No, YOU'RE the IDIOT.
In fact, you're part of the problem.
via wikipedia: "Although most phobias are dangerous to some degree, trypanophobia is one of the few that actually kills. In cases of severe trypanophobia, the drop in blood pressure caused by the vasovagal shock reflex may cause death. In Dr. Hamilton's 1995 review article on needle phobia, he was able to document 23 deaths as a direct result of vasovagal shock during a needle procedure"
Attitudes like yours get people killed... idiot!
Re:Does it work in reverse? (Score:4, Informative)
Jet Injector
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_injector [wikipedia.org]
Interestingly enough most people insist that it's based off the star trek hypospray machine, yet its actually the reverse, the hypospray is based off the jet injector.
It's been half a century and they're still not popular. Mainly because of cleaning issues, you still have cleaning/sterilization tasks but instead of cheap mass produced hypos you have a complicated machine. But secondarily, yes indeed they do hurt like unholy hell for a couple days. I got several vaccinations from jet injectors at reception station immediately before army basic training in the early 90s. "Tough Army Dudes" will put up with the pain but I can see how children would not tolerate it.
Also, from experience, its pretty brutal and a couple drops of "stuff" leaks back out the entrance hole. Admittedly its not a .45 caliber entrance wound here, its like the hole from a lancet. But I wonder what percentage injected leaks back out again.
Re:Genius (Score:4, Informative)
Thats an oversimplification
Well yes, this is a slashdot post and not a doctoral thesis.