Injection device may mean the end of needles

A new injection device may spell the end of the common needle – a tool that strikes fear into many hearts.

MIT scientists have created a high-pressure injection device that delivers medicine through the skin painlessly without the use of a hypodermic needle.

“We were able to fire the drug out at almost the speed of sound if we need to — the speed of sound in air is about 340 meters per second,” said Ian Hunter, a professor at MIT and researcher at its bioinstrumentation lab, reported PressTV.

“It's capable of pressurizing the drug up to 100 megapascales (MPas), and we can do that in under a millisecond.” 

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The device allows medical officials to adjust the dose and the depth to which the medication enters the skin, reported the Sydney Morning Herald.

The researchers are now testing whether the device could one day deliver powder drugs, a feat that would be useful when liquid drugs are not available.

Scientists hope that the device will replace needles that have been used for centuries.

It may also help to put many who fear needles at ease.

"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, according to Live Science.

"We think this kind of technology … gets around some of the phobias that people may have about needles."

The CDC reports that there are nearly 400,000 needle injuries each year in the United States.