JetNeedle

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  • MIT's needleless injections help you get drugs faster, doesn't even hurt (video)

    by 
    Anthony Verrecchio
    Anthony Verrecchio
    05.25.2012

    Afraid of needles? You may not have to be if a team of MIT scientists get their way. Researchers in the Department of Mechanical Engineering are developing a jet-injection device (similar to this one) that allows professionals to pump you full of meds without poking you with a needle. The key to puncture free pharmaceuticals is pressure -- the device uses a Lorenz Force actuator to push medicine out of an opening about the diameter of a mosquito's proboscis. The nozzle pulls liquids out just as fast and efficiently as it administers them, researchers say, and can even deliver powder-based drugs as if they were a liquid, thanks to a bit of supersonic trickery. This tech could be a boon to healthcare workers who get pricked on the job or patients who get daily insulin shots. Promises of painless inoculations piquing your interest? Hit the video after the break to see how its done.