MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, USA. In the not so distant future, medicine can now be injected without the pain of needles through this invention of MIT’s Mechanical Engineers. They developed a high-pressure jet injection system that uses a Lorenz-force actuator that releases medicine in the speed of sound in air.
The invention is a jet-injection system that can deliver various doses at various depths. In its core is a magnet which is then surrounded by a coil of wire. When current is applied, it interacts with the magnetic field. The force produced is enough to push the piston, which is attached to the wire, forward. The piston contains the drug ampoule, ejecting the contents into a nozzle as big as a mosquito’s proboscis.
The depth within which the drug can be delivered can be controlled by adjusting the current. Whether you deliver the drug subcutaneously, intra-muscularly or intravenously can be adjusted. Whether the patient is an infant, a child or an elderly can also create variability in the delivery of the drug which can be easily customized.
The method is very promising in the reduction of needle-prick accident risks for health workers and the improvement of compliance of patients to injected medications.
| Invention | Magnetic Jet Needle-Less Injection Device |
|---|---|
| Organization | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Researcher | Ian Hunter, et al. |
| Field(s) | Medicine, Mechanical Engineering |
| Further Information | MIT.edu, Popular Science |
