New technology provides vaccination without needles

January 10, 2014  11:12

Roughly 50 percent of children don’t get vaccinated due to the fear of needles and the difficulties associated with administering inhaled versions. This has led to the increase in the flu epidemic that is present in US every year, Fox News reports.

One problem with injectable vaccines, other than being painful, is the possibility for contamination and HIV. But the bigger issue is that live vaccines must be refrigerated. This is a huge concern for a lot of poor countries as refrigeration is not available.

New discoveries in nanotechnology have led to the development of a dime-sized “Nanopatch” which can administer the flu vaccine painlessly.

How does this work?

 The patch has thousands of vaccine-coated micro-projections that penetrate the outer layers of the skin with a quick release -- often just seconds -- once they come in contact with moisture within the skin. These micro-projections, while able to transfer the medication into the skin, do not go deep enough to reach the pain receptors, and don’t need to be refrigerated.

Is this available now?

 The technology is currently being tested only on mice, but the studies look promising with a 90 percent success rate. Once approved at the pre-clinical level, the Nanopatch will move to clinical trials on humans and if they keep up the 90 percent success rate, it will be available to the public within 5 years or less.

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