Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have discovered a new way to administer drugs that may make hypodermic needles obsolete. The new device uses high pressure to pass medication directly through the skin without any pain, as lead researcher Ian Hunter explained to PressTV earlier this week.
"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," Hunter said. "It's capable of pressurizing the drug up to 100 megapascales (MPas), and we can do that in under a millisecond."
At this time, the device administers liquid medication and would allow doctors to control the amount of drug given and the depth to which it enters a patient's body.
"If you are afraid of needles and have to frequently self-inject, compliance can be an issue," fellow researcher Catherine Hogan told Live Science. "We think this kind of technology...gets around some of the phobias that people may have about needles."
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