You don't need all this fancy tech stuff. You know what alomost completely eliminates the pain of injections? Refridgerated needles. Been injecting most of my life and it works. (I managed to get the nurses at my hospital clinic to start keeping theirs in the fridge.)

DelSource

Humm, good idea. But if the needle is that small won't it take forever to get a shot? On a side note, maybe I can get rich selling needle repellent.

Digo

With my extremely limited experience of needles the actual prick doesn't hurt at all. It's when they start squeezing in the content that it starts to hurt. I fail to see how this would help?

BoinK

In the category of very-natural-things-to-say-but-you-learn-not-to-early-on-in-med-school:
1) At the start of a pelvic exam: "Hi, could you please spread your legs?"
2) And... "You're going to feel a little prick."

scarbrtj

While they can take away the pain (mostly) they cant take away the fear and some people are terrified of needles. Case in point, during an ER visit my tiny daughter was brave and didnt flinch for an IV while just accross from us, it took 6 people to hold down a grown man for his and when they finally got it in him, they had to sedate him for fear he would injure himself or the staff.

Curves

@BoinK: It very much depends on the size of the needle and skill of the person doing the injection or venipuncture.

That said, some substances are quite painful to have injected - potassium, for example, is laced with lidocaine in order for it to approach being tolerable for injection.

Geisrud

That needle better be REAL strong or REAL flexible cause I don't want no graphene needle floating around in my blood stream. 60 vs 900 is a Big difference. I do agree with refrigerated needles we use these on our cattle, however do not freeze them as a frozen needle has a tendency to crack and break much easier.

mrsalty

@qbrad: Plus a titanium sheathed microelectromechanical pump sounds REALLY pricey.

If you go to Costco and get them in bulk, I find that really helps.

ps61318

@BoinK: Had a boss once who was an actual prick. "Doesn't hurt at all?" Hurt my career, darn betcha.

ps61318

60 microns?? It'll take forever to draw any volume! Plus all the cell shearing going on, nothing will be useful but the plasma, if you can separate it!

I read about these years ago in PopSci. A scientist in Japan(I guess Toaki U.?) had suggested using serrated needles mimicking a mosquito's proboscis. Looks like they're finally making some progress, but I really don't know the application of such a tiny needle. Plus a titanium sheathed microelectromechanical pump sounds REALLY pricey.

qbrad

@scarbrtj: And as any guy on the dating circuit will tell you: Absolutely NEVER use those two sentences in conjunction...

ideaman2020

@scarbrtj:

+ Watch video

Singlespeed

@Curves: Uh, that was me...

atomx

Seems like the obvious thing to do. Then again, leeches seemed like a good idea back in the day..

SuperCollider

Great, something that'll tempt people to get more vaccines.

videoCWK

The advent of ultra-cheap disposable syringes was a boon to modern medicine... this is a step backwards. Man up, Medicine!

Hiphopopotamus

@weak_pig: I agree. But bats eat them... so they've got that going for them. Which is nice.

ezman

i wish all the mosquitoes in the world would just die. They don't really serve anything important in the eco food chain, rite?

i HATE mosquitoes

weak_pig

"it's not their mouth that hurts you"

Then exactly what are you implying, Kit?

txpunk

One problem they'll have to overcome is the natural tendancy to smack a mosquito when it does bite you.

@Curves:
Count me in the latter group, after a _BAD_ experience with a dentist as a young child. But mine manifests itself in a really weird way. I'm (mostly) okay with getting jabbed with a needle...as long as I am able to watch the entire process. No flinching or anything, but I really pissed off a different dentist several years later when I reflex-grabbed his hand as he tried to sneak the needle into my mouth (note that this would end up being the very first time I was able to get nitrous oxide prior to an oral injection, which sorta goes back to that bad experience bit). It was actually such a problem for me that the first time I needed to have fillings, I had it done 100% anaesthesia-free, on account if it hurts less than having someone stab your mouth up without doing a single thing to help reduce the pain (no pre-swabbing, no refridgerated needles, no nitrous, no nothing).

Purple Dave

@DelSource: I've always found cold needles that extract warm fluids from spoons tend to break more easily, and generally, as soon as the injection commences, I tend to forget about all that pain...oh, the pain. Where's my spoon?

capitalass

ill be the test of if it really causes less pain

exobite

Finally! An easier way to inject my heroine!

mcjake

Meh. You don't need high-tech needles, you just need nurses who know what the hell they are doing.

I used to have a phobia of needles, one that was reinforced by clinic nurses who would mistake nerves for veins. But pretty much all of my fear disappeared when I got a nurse who knew what she was about. I was "OK, she's swabbed, come ON, when's she going to draw the blood?" "Done!" "Huh?"

I'm willing to go ten miles further than my normal medical office, just so I can have a competent nurse.

Eric Tolle

Nobody does it like Dracula!

gravitation

@Singlespeed: Damn Mel Brooks!

scarbrtj

This is a great idea, make it a standard! I freaking HATE needles! But when mosquito's draw my blood, I don't even notice until I get a rash from their saliva.

ijuleguy

How does "The Mosquito" work in a needle-exchange program?

gravitation

@capitalass: ;o)

Er, incidentally, I'm not a drug addict....If I don't inject, I die - and not the other way round!

@mcjake: Why are you injecting a lady?

DelSource

Mossqueetoz. I hate 'em. Especially knowing that it is my blood that sets in motion the females propagation of the species!

/the |-| 0 |2 |2 0 |2 !!

ANoel

@rparvez: You read my mind.

mullingitover

I wonder how they'll keep from hemolyzing blood draw samples...

rparvez

@DelSource: Oh yeah, sorry to even suggest that. I really do not think that you are. Was just making a dumb joke about cold needles, though I have heard that cooling them is quite effective for mitigating pain through either hypo or subcutaneous administration; I believe it has a numbing effect.

capitalass

Meh. The ultra fine needles used for insulin injections don't hurt. Just extend that already-existing technology to the bigger needles used for other shots and you're all set.

infmom

The injection doesn't hurt anymore but it itches like hell for the next few days.

TheYoshi

@mcjake:
I'm sure your heroine would be offended if you tried to inject her with a mosquito-like needle.

Purple Dave

@Purple Dave: Or a little prick.

GadgetPlay

@Eric Tolle: Right on with the need to know what you are doing. I was a phlebotomist for a bit, the needle isn't the problem it's the skill of the person using it. Not to mention honing years of gamers twitch into needle-in needle-out ninja style precision.

Oh and to make it easier on yourself and us for god's sake hydrate yourself (water is best, pop rocks + coke not so good) before coming to the lab, unless otherwise directed by your doctor.

phunktion

Great ... now I'm gonna have to pick doctors out of my electric bug killer??

Brau

Because of all the addicts old needles will never run out of fashion :D

DaSmith