IIT Kharagpur Invents Painless Injection, Could Help With COVID-19 Vaccine
Developed at the institute¡¯s Department of Electronic and Electrical Communication Engineering, not only has the needle gotten considerably thinner -- diameter-wise -- but they¡¯ve also improved the overall strength of the needle that prevents it from breaking.
Let¡¯s face it, no one likes to get injected. Even though most of us make it seem like it doesn¡¯t pain, it surely does hurt. However, researchers at IIT Kharagpur might have a way to minimise this pain by a considerable amount.
Representational Image: Reuters
Reported first by PTI, Researchers at IIT Kharagpur have developed a microneedle that¡¯s capable of administering large drug molecules in a painless way. Developed at the institute¡¯s Department of Electronic and Electrical Communication Engineering, not only has the needle gotten considerably thinner -- diameter-wise -- but they¡¯ve also improved the overall strength of the needle that prevents it from breaking.
In case you didn¡¯t know, Microneedles are often used by diabetic patients for delivering insulin in the body. However, researchers claim that this microneedle could also be helpful in administering COVID-19 vaccines when they come out.
Lead researcher Prof Tarun Kanti Bhattacharyya explained, "A typical use could be achieved in insulin delivery or medication for diseases of the lymphatic system, skin including some forms of cancer, or even COVID-19 vaccine."
"We have fabricated high strength glass carbon microneedles which can withstand the skin resistive forces. Added to this is our designing of the ionic polymer metal composite membrane based micropump which increases the flow rate of the drug molecules in a controlled and precise manner. We have further integrated this microneedle and micropump to achieve controlled drug delivery."
Representational Image: Reuters
He also expressed that the microneedle can be extensively used for various kinds of transdermal medication. He also stated that with more research, they would be able to produce customised microneedle-based effective delivery systems, offering a slightly comfortable and pain-free experience.
The development of this microneedle was funded by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) as well as the Department of Science and Technology of Government of India. Researchers have successfully tested the needles with animals as per all medical protocols. They¡¯ve also filed for a patent in India, as well as published research in journals in IEEE and Nature.
