By Jonathan Kimak
The prospect of going to the doctor to get vaccination shots can be a total nightmare for kids and even adults. Some of that fear of needles can be attributed more to the intimidating size of the needle than the actual injection. Now a new needle has eliminated the size and the sting.
This microneedle, being designed at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur and Tokai University of Japan was created to emulate a mosquito. The needle is only 60 microns in diameter(compared to a regular needle’s 900 micron diameter) and draws blood via a micro-electro-mechanical based suction system that emulates the method mosquitos use to suck out your blood and make you claw at your skin hoping for the pain to go away.
The needle is made of titanium to help prevent snapping and it is hoped to be used in medical processes such as glucose monitoring, insulin shots and drawing blood.