We have seen needle-free drug injection systems before. Systems by Bioject Inc. seem to us to be smaller and easier to use. “Plastic-based, it is spring powered and provides durability and convenience at a low cost,” noted Frost&Sullivan when it presented Bioject with the 2005 Product Differentiation Innovation of the Year Award.
Company explains its technology:
Bioject’s needle-free injection technology works by forcing liquid medication at high speed through a tiny orifice that is held against the skin. The diameter of the orifice is smaller than the diameter of a human hair. This creates an ultra-fine stream of high-pressure fluid that penetrates the skin without using a needle.
Bioject’s technology is unique because it delivers injections to a number of injection depths and supports a wide range of injection volumes. For instance, the Biojector 2000 can deliver intramuscular or subcutaneous injections up to 1 mL in volume. In addition, Bioject is developing a syringe for the Biojector 2000 that delivers intradermal injections that is currently in clinical trials.
More at Bioject…
UPDATE (3/20/05): Another system in the works…
(hat tip: WMMNA)