The current needle-free injection technology has matured

Ji Linong stressed that China started late in needle-free injection research, but it has developed rapidly. It can be said that the current needle-free injection technology has matured, and the safety and practical effects of the technology have also been clinically confirmed. The future still needs to be promoted by the whole society in order to benefit more patients.

Researchers at the Georgia Tech University and Emory University published a paper in the latest issue of The Lancet, saying they developed a microneedle patch for vaccination, which was used to vaccinate the flu vaccine. It is as effective as the currently used syringe vaccination, which also eliminates the discomfort caused by intramuscular injection and reduces costs. Researchers believe that as technology matures, this new vaccination will eventually replace the syringe vaccination technology that has been in place for more than a hundred years.

The vaccine patch consists of 100 solid water-soluble needles with a needle that is long enough to penetrate the skin. When inoculated, the patch adheres tightly to the skin, the micro-needle penetrates into the superficial skin, and the vaccine is encapsulated in the microneedles. Released after the needle has dissolved. After a few minutes, these patches can be safely discarded like used bandages.

The researchers recruited 100 volunteers and conducted clinical trials using inactivated influenza vaccines from the 2014 to 2015 flu season. The results showed that there was no significant difference between the effect of patch inoculation and the effect of syringe inoculation. The immune response produced by the inoculator still existed after 6 months, and inoculation with the microneedle patch did not cause serious adverse reactions. Some volunteers may have a slight redness or mild itching after using the patch, but it will be innocent after two or three days. In addition, there was no significant difference whether the medical staff used the microneedle patch to vaccinate the volunteers or the volunteers vaccinated themselves.