Question: In the near future will there be a needle-free injection?

Alex Lyness answered on 16 Jun 2014:

Hey tezzahh,

Thanks for your question. My answer is… I hope so! Currently there are generally four types of needle-free injection technologies, they are;

– Liquid Jet Injectors. These blast drugs through the skin like a really high-powered water pistol.
– Powder Injectors. These fire powder at really fast onto the skin using a gas canister as the power source.
– Solid Dose Injectors. These push a small grain of drug through the skin really quickly, this is the type that I did my PhD in.
– Micro-Needle Patches. These have tiny sharp points on something the size of a postage stamp. The points also have drug on them so when they break the top-layer of skin the drug can get in.

They all have advantages and disadvantages in the way they work so I think different drugs will be delivered using different methods. The first three all require drugs to be propelled at high speeds that can damage the drug and the skin too much. Micro-needle patches are being researched but there will be a limit to how much drug each small patch can deliver.

Of all the types of needle-free injection technologies named above only liquid jet injection is available at the moment.

Why do you ask? Do you dislike needles?