Sharjah24 – Reuters: Researchers in the Netherlands are developing laser technology to enable "virtually painless" injections without needles in what they call a breakthrough that will ease fear and lower the threshold for vaccinations.
The "Bubble Gun" uses a laser to push tiny droplets through the outer layer of the skin, said David Fernandez Rivas, a professor at Twente University and research affiliate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who developed the technology.
The process is quicker than a mosquito bite and "should not cause pain" because nerve endings in the skin are not touched, he said, adding this would be studied further.
"Within a millisecond, the glass that contains the liquid is heated by a laser, a bubble is created in the liquid, pushing the liquid out at a velocity on the order of 100 kilometres per hour and we can see the gelatine how it penetrates about one millimetre approximately," he said during an interview at his lab.
Rivas expects the invention will not only help more people get vaccinated, but will also prevent the risk of contamination through needles and reduce medical waste.
It could however take one to three years for the method to be available to the general public, depending on the progress of research and regulatory issues.
Henk Schenk, who offers therapy to help those suffering acutely, said many people felt they stood "up against the wall" because of the ongoing vaccination campaign put in place in the country.
In neighbouring Belgium, people said they welcomed the invention.
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