Star Trek Syringe

By Jessica GormanJul 1, 2000 5:00 AM

Newsletter

Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news
 

The doctors keep saying it won't hurt a bit, and it keeps hurting. There's got to be a better way to get drugs into the body than a brutal needle and syringe. Chemist Terry Burkoth and his collaborators at PowderJect Pharmaceuticals in Oxford, England, agree. They have replaced the needle with a flashlight-size tube that uses a jet of helium to accelerate powdered drugs to supersonic speeds. Just press it against the skin, and the PowderJect system shoots a dose directly into the underlying cells. The drug particles are so small that the patient hardly feels a thing. And the supersonic shot could make it easier for doctors to deliver precise dosages of drugs to hard-to-reach regions just below the skin's upper layer.

Powderject

1 free article left
Want More? Get unlimited access for as low as $1.99/month

Already a subscriber?

Register or Log In

1 free articleSubscribe
Discover Magazine Logo
Want more?

Keep reading for as low as $1.99!

Subscribe

Already a subscriber?

Register or Log In

More From Discover
Recommendations From Our Store
Shop Now
Stay Curious
Join
Our List

Sign up for our weekly science updates.

 
Subscribe
To The Magazine

Save up to 40% off the cover price when you subscribe to Discover magazine.

Copyright © 2023 Kalmbach Media Co.