Painless Injection and Testing with The Newest Technology - Microneedles

 

Injection is one major reasons that some people try avoiding Healthcare. And as such, the use of injections and its significant, especially in healthcare cannot be overruled.

Trypanophobia (i.e, the fear of needles), is a formal medical condition affecting approximately 10% of the world population, according to the report by Pharmaceutical Technology. 

On their web page, they stated that the newly developed microneedle (as called) was done by researchers at the University of British Columbia. 

"University of British Columbia researchers have developed new 'microneedle arrays' that could reduce the discomfort of injections by eliminating the need for deep tissue injections. This is the technology that will impact greatly with time when it becomes widely use."

For now, the hypodermic needle using the transcutaneous or transdermal injections and intravenous injections are still widely used methods of drug delivery despite the pain inherent in it.

"Coming to the aid of trypanophobics, scientists such as Dr Boris Stoeber, the Canada Research Chair in Microfluidics and Sensing Technology at the University of British Columbia, are working on pain-free approaches to drug injections. Stoeber’s idea stemmed from a suggestion made by his professor, Dr Dorian Liepmann, at the University of California. They initially envisioned the development of small prefilled syringes with vaccines for use in remote places.

"Another consideration was the development of syringes that would allow self-administration of drugs by means of pressing them onto the skin. This would make the syringes easier to use, thereby removing the need for trained healthcare personnel to administer vaccines or drugs"