Painless Vaccination Patch Is The Stuff Of Dreams

I know that the subject of needles can be a very pointed one (pardon the pun), as we have heard our fair share of horror stories where a well built person becomes a whimpering fool at the sight of a needle, while others who cannot stand the sight of a dead butterfly would not mind being poked and prodded all over the place. I guess different strokes work for different folks, and here is an idea that many people will be able to resonate with – patches that are covered in microscopic needles which could actually send vaccines into one’s skin in the future so that it will boost a patient’s defense against disease.

The delivery of vaccines tend to happen in a series of jabs, and sure, you might end up with a lollipop from the doctor at the end of the day, but aren’t you a wee bit too old to be sucking on one at the hospital? Good to know that researchers at MIT have come up with a method to create “super effective” DNA vaccines by relying on an array of microscopic plastic needles that measure a mere 250 microns wide and 650 microns high, and if you were to compare it to the average human hair, it measures roughly 100 microns wide.The microneedles in action can disrupt only the most superficial layers of the skin while avoiding nerve endings and blood vessels, rendering them painless to deliver the vaccine compared to hypodermic needles.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Medical