IISc’s pen-shaped device can deliver drugs painlessly-TOI news

IISC

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have developed a pen-shaped device that will help doctors administer drugs, especially vaccines, in a painless and more efficient manner.

Instead of a needle, the device uses shock wave to transfer the drug into the patient.

Explaining about the functioning of the device, Gopalan Jagadeesh, professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at IISc, who spearheaded the project, said the pen can produce shock waves that create a thrust causing the drug to flow as a very thin jet.

“This jet will deliver the drug at a depth of just 160-200 microns into the skin as opposed to conventional needles that penetrate to 1 or 2 mm,” he said.

The project is being conducted in collaboration with researchers from the Laboratory for Hypersonic and Shock Waves and Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, IISc. Shock waves are currently used to disintegrate kidney stones and, in angiogenic therapies, it is used to create new blood vessels from pre-existing ones.

The compact device has already been tried and tested successfully in the IISc’s laboratories wherein typhoid vaccine was injected into mice, he said. “After a few more experiments, we will also try it on humans.”

Further, the device makes drug and vaccine injection a painless affair.

“There is no pain induced in this process because the nerve endings start only after 100 microns. Further, a small amount of drug injected at this depth is sufficient to provide resistance,” said Divya Prakash, a collaborative research student working in the Aerospace and Microbiology departments at IISc, who is a part of the project.

Dipshikha Chakravortty, associate professor at the Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, IISc, said since the device can help avoid needle prick injuries, it will find huge application in veterinary sciences.

“We will soon try the device on different animals as the skin nature is different for each. For humans, the pen can be used to inject vaccinations for bacterial and viral diseases,” she said.

Further, animal trials have also shown that a lesser quantity of vaccine is sufficient to provide resistance in animals against infection when compared to conventional methods.