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."
Does it work in reverse? (Score:3, Interesting)
Can a blood sample be taken this way?
could never completely replace the needle (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:There's other uses too (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Does it work in reverse? (Score:5, Interesting)
It's never nice to have someone not take your phobia seriously.
I have absolutely no problem with needles - in fact I have locally anesthetized myself and performed minor surgery on myself (yes I am a doctor) on more than one occasion. But then again I cannot bear the sight of spiders... To each their own!
The good side is that if you can deliver a virus (or virus fragments) this way, you can deliver pretty much anything else, too. The down side is how much will it cost versus current methods. Hypodermics are very cheap. And of course there will always be practical limits - nothing will ever replace two short large bore catheters, or a central line for that matter, in certain situations...
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Hypospray. (Score:3, Interesting)
It reminds me more of the fast-acting transdermal patches that Babylon 5 was fond of. [youtube.com]
Oh, and: SPOILER ALERT. Sorta. [penny-arcade.com]
Re:could never completely replace the needle (Score:2, Interesting)
On with the discussion folks. Nothing more to see here.
Re:Genius (Score:5, Interesting)
Yeah... that and a 6'3 415lb body builder with wild eyes being held down by 6 people to have blood drawn with a needle. What I have to tell people is:
1) Don't let me see the needle. Otherwise it's over and you might have some structural problems with the building when I "leave".
2) Somebody needs to put their whole body weight down on my arm when you do it.
Even then it takes every single ounce of will I have to not lose it. It's a real problem. I have to have full anesthesia to get any kind of dental work done. One time a dentist thought I was kidding and surprised me with a needle in the face. My reaction was so severe I cracked his chair backwards trying to get away from it. Damn things are expensive.
I have a family history of diabetes on both sides. So far I have lucked out. I have a legitimate concern about the day I might be forced to use a needle. It would be hell on Earth.
This patch could be life changing, albeit for a very small part of the population, but still life changing.
Re:There's other uses too (Score:3, Interesting)
I have actually, yes. Not that I have access to LSD, and the virus thing sounds somewhat fanciful, but yes.
I also wondered what might happen if you spread a whole lot of cannabis seed over a large area and just let it grow. Unfortunately I'm told the results would be pretty useless due to the female plants only really producing when there are no males around to fertilise them.
Re:There's other uses too (Score:3, Interesting)
That has basically happened in France [telegraph.co.uk], thanks to the CIA.