Needle pills replace needle syringes
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Painful injections with syringes can be a thing of the past, as recently experts have suggested an alternative option - small pills equipped with needles. As noted by the staff of the Technological Institute in Massachusetts, their invention is completely safe and painless. Scientists have already tested the effect of pills on the digestive system of pigs.
A special tablet delivers the drug directly to the target, preventing premature decay.
The pill is made of acrylic, and small (5 mm) needles are made of steel. The total size of such a pill is about two centimeters in length and 10 mm in width. Since there are no pain receptors in the stomach and intestinal mucosa, the person, according to the developers, will not feel at all how the prickly tablet will pass through the gastrointestinal tract.
On specially selected animals, scientists tested needle pills with insulin. About seven days it took to ensure that the tablet overcame the entire gastrointestinal tract (specialists did not reveal traces of damage to the mucous pigs).
As a result, the needles could introduce insulin into the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines, which affected the sugar level almost instantaneously.
At this stage, specialists plan to change the tablet so that during the contractions of the intestine it slowly, as it moves forward, releases the active drug. The specialists themselves intend to make the needles themselves from special decomposable materials so that they can penetrate into the intestinal mucosa and dissolve slowly.
Experts continue to introduce technological innovations to facilitate diagnosis and treatment of patients. For example, recently researchers have created a special application that will help people who have had a heart attack to avoid a possible relapse.
As the experiment showed, patients after a heart attack, who used the application for 30% more were rehabilitated. Such patients were 40% more likely to become participants in the rehabilitation program and almost twice as often reached the end.
The rehabilitation period after a heart attack, usually includes group sessions and seminars, which take place in a medical institution. Some patients because of difficulties with the road, lack of motivation, etc. Do not attend or stop attending classes. A special application for smartphones will ease the owner of the rehabilitation process. With this application, patients will be able to get the necessary recommendations for proper nutrition, training, and there is also the possibility to set a reminder to not miss the medication.
The app contains motivating texts and helps people complete the rehabilitation program and change their way of life.
Using the application, patients will be able to record their achievements, health status, etc., all information will be sent to a special website for doctors and medical personnel.
As doctors noted, it is quite difficult to persuade a patient after a heart attack to undergo a rehabilitation period. Therefore, it is extremely important to first inform the person about the need for this event, and then to offer support materials. Now the application is planned to be distributed in several Brisbane clinics among patients who have suffered a heart attack. In the future, scientists want to adapt the application for patients with pulmonary diseases and diabetes mellitus.
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