Over the past 150 years syringes and hypodermics have been used to administer the drug to the body. However, drugs that possessed a specific combination of physicochemical properties could be given using them.
Its hollow-bore steel needles keep on inflicting unnecessary pain and fear across patient demographics.
The advent of needleless syringe technologies is not only believed to be beneficial for the pharma industry but also the developing world finds it highly useful in mass immunization programs.
Its incorporation promotes virtually painless and highly efficient drug delivery. Other than that, considering its benefits, this technology is backed by organizations such as the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and various groups including Bill.
This guide elaborates on the concept of needleless mechanisms, associated advantages, drawbacks, and applications across the healthcare industry.
Understanding the Mechanism: How Needleless Syringes Work
These injections have various mechanisms of action. Luckily, they don’t require a syringe to penetrate the skin. Unquestionably, needleless syringe variants are more sophisticated approaches, including:
Jet Injectors
A type of medical injecting syringe device made a high-pressure stream of liquid to penetrate the outermost layer of the skin and deliver medication to targeted underlying tissues. Want to know how it generates steam? It is possible by the pressure of a piston in an enclosed liquid-filled chamber.
Microneedle Arrays
This micron-sized needle punctures the stratum corneum. It allows the drug molecule to diffuse directly beneath the skin much more quickly. This has made the delivery of complex molecules (like proteins, vaccines, and peptides) possible through the transdermal route.
Fast Fact: In the 1970s, microneedles were first conceptualized by Martin S. Gerstel and Virgil A.
Despite its painless behavior, this is often used to improve the bioavailability of proteinaceous drugs.
Pressure Injectors
The functioning of a pressure injector involves a blend of gas or spring-loaded injectors. It further builds immense internal pressure and develops fine high-speed fluid jets without using needles.
Some of its variants include adaptable nozzle guards modulating injection pressures and preventing backend splatter.
Advantages of Needleless Syringes
This technology has profound benefits in the healthcare industry. One of the examples is it reduced the number of needle stick accidents and associated problems. Being a novel way to introduce various medicines to patients without piercing the skin, it has a lot to offer, those are:
Reduced Pain and Anxiety
The good news for needle phobics is it has no needle, it prevents skin puncture hazards and its destruction. People have experienced lowered injection pain, reaching near imperceptible levels. So, by now patients can overcome the fear of needles.
Enhanced Safety
Syringes with needles can be risky. Not-so-properly sterilized needles can impact health.
Statistics:
As per the research and market analysis, in 2022, the European syringes and needles market was USD 7.97 billion which is shortly expected to grow by 2028 and reach USD 11.76 billion.
To overcome this challenge, with needleless syringes, there will be no needle puncture, needle fracture, or needle blockage.
Faster Administration
Needle-free syringes are quick, thus, the injection process spans just 0.02–0.15 seconds. Besides imparting fast drug delivery, it enhances reproducibility as compared to invasive drug delivery systems.
Greater Versatility
These injectors are designed with adjustable penetration settings. What does it do? Across various formularies, it allows modification of injection pressures in accordance with viscosities, sensitivities, and dosage volumes.
Potential Drawbacks of Needleless Syringes
Although they reduce inconveniences, they have potential drawbacks too. Those limitations can be around penetration depths, costs, and specialty mechanisms.
Here are some drawbacks linked with the usage of needle syringes:
Cost
Convenience can be quite expensive. In comparison with traditional syringes, this technology carries higher initial procurement costs. Some may afford and some might not. However, usage savings can be achieved over reuse lifetimes.
Technology Limitations
The small holes in the nozzle need to be made perfectly. Since they are made with precise micron tolerances during fabrication using carefully selected medical-grade materials, these can withstand firing pressures and sustain heat generation.
Presently, due to complexities, there are limited reliable sourcing avenues.
Limited Availability
Innovative startups proactively disrupt the conservative medical device industry. Many needleless injectors are still subject to restrictions under exclusive partnerships or some are even waiting for regulatory clearance.
Potential Misuse
It only mandates guarded operation which needs to be done by qualified healthcare technicians. Small mistakes can have a huge impact. For instance, improperly calibrated or positioned firing risks tissue damage.
Applications of Needleless Syringes Across Healthcare
Demand for needleless syringes drives adoption across diverse therapeutic use cases including:
Vaccine Delivery
The application of needleless syringes can be seen in mass vaccination. Typically, it is done by ultra-rapid inoculation capacity. One of the recent examples of its application was seen during the COVID-19 pandemic when hundreds of people were immunized hourly with minimal discomfort.
Diabetes Management
Those on insulin, a medication that is required to be administered several times during the day are considered to be the most promising candidate for needleless delivery. Hence, it vastly improves self-administration willingness and glycemic control outcomes.
Pain Management
It can be used for continuous microdosing infusion pumps to sustain post-op analgesic levels transdermally. Programmable automation stays within an optimal range in response to patient feedback thereby minimizing the risk of puncture wounds risks associated with indwelling catheters over days.
Ophthalmology
As previously mentioned, it has a microneedle that grants precise drop-free drug deposition flexibility without triggering reflexive blink responses. Therefore, allows for selective target medications exactly on small-surface tissues where needle tips cannot be accessed.
Cosmetics
During cosmetic surgeries, needleless syringes can be used to introduce cosmetic skin enhancement compounds like hyaluronic acid fillers or botulinum relaxants. How? It is possible via fixed-depth ultra-fine streams just under the epidermis.
Conclusion
Needleless syringes – known for their pain-less nature have the potential to replace all current needle systems and make the parenteral route more patient-compliant. It helps to overcome fear and pain barriers.
These are undoubtedly the best alternatives to deliver medicine to the skin without causing pain. What’s more? These can be faster if compared to h conventional needles.
This opportunity has changed outcomes and adhered to by thoughtfully addressing procedural anxieties head-on.
