Most of the painful sensation from a subcutaneous or intramuscular injection is from the liquid being injected, not the needle itself. The liquid coming out the end of the needle will spread the tissue apart (think internal blister) if it is injected too fast. This is why electronic syringes are much more comfortable even though they use the same exact needle. (Dentsply Comfort Control syringe or The Wand) The electric motor can push the liquid in very slowly and steadily, so it can perfuse through the tissue. A thinner needle makes no difference in pain sensation when the flow rate of the liquid is the same. However, a thinner needle does offer more resistance to flow of the liquid thereby making it easier to inject slowly and steadily when using a traditional hand syringe. Using this Nano-needle would not be very useful for most subcutaneous or intramuscular injections. The needles don't penetrate far enough for intramuscular. Most injectable medications (think lidocaine) need a large volume of liquid. If these nano-needles did manage to get the liquid into the subcutaneous area, you would still have the volume issue to contend with. The liquid distending the tissue would still cause pain. Vaccines are more appropriate for this because they typically have a very low volume that needs to be injected.
endodoc, While I take your point about liquid flow during an injection, I've used a thin needle on myself and trust me, it hurts less going in than the normal thick kind. (Cue cheap jokes...) If I were diabetic and injecting four times a day, I'd want the thinnest needle possible; it hurts less, it leaves less of a mark, and you'll have a smaller sore spot leaving you with more room for further injections. I've not heard of a pain-free injection system for diabetes which is why you get companies looking into nasal sprays and suchlike; they know the first person to offer a pain-free but rapid delivery system will make loads of $$.
The N9 has arrived. What we can say from our first experience is that we're in the presence of a fantastically designed device with a gorgeous AMOLED screen and some highly responsive performance.
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Most of the painful sensation from a subcutaneous or intramuscular injection is from the liquid being injected, not the needle itself. The liquid coming out the end of the needle will spread the tissue apart (think internal blister) if it is injected too fast. This is why electronic syringes are much more comfortable even though they use the same exact needle. (Dentsply Comfort Control syringe or The Wand) The electric motor can push the liquid in very slowly and steadily, so it can perfuse through the tissue. A thinner needle makes no difference in pain sensation when the flow rate of the liquid is the same. However, a thinner needle does offer more resistance to flow of the liquid thereby making it easier to inject slowly and steadily when using a traditional hand syringe.
Using this Nano-needle would not be very useful for most subcutaneous or intramuscular injections. The needles don't penetrate far enough for intramuscular. Most injectable medications (think lidocaine) need a large volume of liquid. If these nano-needles did manage to get the liquid into the subcutaneous area, you would still have the volume issue to contend with. The liquid distending the tissue would still cause pain.
Vaccines are more appropriate for this because they typically have a very low volume that needs to be injected.
endodoc, While I take your point about liquid flow during an injection, I've used a thin needle on myself and trust me, it hurts less going in than the normal thick kind. (Cue cheap jokes...) If I were diabetic and injecting four times a day, I'd want the thinnest needle possible; it hurts less, it leaves less of a mark, and you'll have a smaller sore spot leaving you with more room for further injections. I've not heard of a pain-free injection system for diabetes which is why you get companies looking into nasal sprays and suchlike; they know the first person to offer a pain-free but rapid delivery system will make loads of $$.