Monday, July 19, 2010

Universal vaccination patch

Dissolving "microneedle" patch could lead to universal vaccinations

Dissolving "microneedle" patch could lead to universal vaccinations
The patches contain hundreds of microscopic needles, each barely any
bigger than a 10,000th of an inch. (You can see an array of 36 such
needles up top.) The needles are each tipped with vaccines, and when the
patch is applied to the skin they dissolve painlessly to provide
long-lasting protection. That's a big improvement on hypodermic needles,
the current mode of vaccine delivery, because those needles are nothing
but trouble once they've been used. Disposing of hypodermics so that
they don't accidentally hurt someone or end up getting reused is a
public health nightmare, and the patch eliminates those concerns
completely.

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