Painless injections

Well this is a late entry for a change… by among all the news I have read up today I haven’t really found too much of interest. I did however come across this:

Mini-needles 'give painless jabs'

From the article:

Squeamish patients who cannot stand the sight of needles could be offered pain-free injections, thanks to the work of Cardiff scientists. The new micro-needles are long enough to penetrate the skin but not to reach pain receptors. They were designed to introduce a DNA vaccination directly into skin cells…

The micro-needles, made by the Tyndall National Institute in Ireland, measure up to 300 microns (0.3mm) across, and are barely visible to the naked eye. A tiny plate containing up to 400 needles is used and tests have found them to be completely painless. James Birchall, head of the gene delivery research group, said: "Think of the bed of nails effect - the forces are spread over a wide surface area."

Personally, I don’t have any issues with getting injections, but I do know a few friends that do, and I know that there are lots of people out there that are the same. This is just what they have been waiting for. However, they don’t expect them to be seen for another 5 years so it looks like there is more waiting for them.