New Vaccine Patch to Replace Needles

Published : July 21, 2010 :: 14:07:47 [ 2,708 views ]

Needles may soon be a thing of the past as a Japanese Professor has invented a new painless vaccine chip that contains as many as 300 micro needles that dissolve after penetrating just 0.5 millimeters into the skin.

Immunization against diseases such as flu would benefit from the vaccine patch with patients not having to endure painful injections that can be quite dangerous if sterilization procedures are not thorough. The fact that the patch cannot be reused will prevent the risk of HIV or Aids as there would be no dangerous needles left over.

Tests on mice have shown that the new vaccine patch may produce a better immune response than conventional injections as the skin is a better conductor and responds faster to any kind of aggression on its surface. Researchers believe that the patch may one day enable patients to vaccinate themselves in this new painless needle free way.

Each patch is just a few hundred micrometers in length, enough to penetrate the outer layers of skin and delivers the vaccine while dissolving which then travels through the skin and spreads throughout the body just as a normal injection would.

The new vaccine patch is ready for testing on humans once the necessary funds have been raised. If proven to be effective, the patch would mean an end for medical training to deliver vaccines and turn it into a painless procedure that patients could self administer which would simplify situations during a pandemic.

To date, the study has only looked at flu vaccines, but it is hoped the technology may be used for other immunizations and would not be any costlier than the traditional needle.

Sarah Goldman

Comments

david williams

said :

I hope this can be developed for diabetes sufferers, it would be a boon, a steady administration of insulin, keeping the blood sugar in check, would be great

Email : lungdavid@hotmail.com Date : 2010-07-25 12:44:06

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