A team of MIT researchers<\/a> has developed a needleless injection system that can deliver a range of drug doses to variable depths through the skin, bringing an end to the need for painful injections.<\/p>\nThe system is similar to a normal syringe but doesn\u2019t have a needle plunger. Instead, it uses a Lorentz-force actuator, a small but powerful magnet surrounded by a coil of wire, that is attached to a piston inside the drug ampoule. When a current is turned on, it interacts with the magnet to produce a force that pushes the piston forward. This, in turn, ejects a drug embedded inside the capsule through an opening about as wide as a mosquito proboscis — the tiny spear-like mouth that penetrates your skin painlessly when the insect bites you.<\/p>\n
The device can inject drugs at the speed of sound<\/strong><\/p>\nThe force and the depth of the injection can be controlled by altering the current applied to the coil. The pressures can also be adjusted to suit different skin types.<\/p>\n