Forget The Needle Pill: Researchers Focus On Vibrating Syringes

Many people have an intense fear of being jabbed with needles, a phobia that compels some to avoid vaccinations and other necessary injections. A lot of research has been underway on this seemingly simple problem, with the goal being a future where injections are no longer painful. The most interesting solution so far is the needle pill developed by MIT researchers — a capsule adorned with micro-needles that jabs one's internals painlessly. The idea of swallowing a cluster of needles might form its own phobia for some, however, and so enters the vibrating syringe.

Researchers recently unveiled findings on a study that used different forms of stimuli to "distract" patients from feeling the pain of an injection. This involved using hot and cold temperatures, pressure, and vibrations on the skin before it was jabbed by a needle. While temperature didn't have much of an influence, the other two did.

Both pressure and vibration on the injection site caused a "significantly decreased" perception of pain caused by needles, leading to the conclusion that vibrating and pressure-applying contraptions can be used to eliminate pain (whether that eliminates the phobia is another matter).

This method is believed to work via a theory known as gate control; essentially, experiencing these two particular sensations (pressure and vibrations) causes the "gate" through which the pain from the injection travels to close. The research, then, could lead to the development of a syringe that is pressed against the skin and vibrates before jabbing with the needle, such as the micro vibrator attachment that surfaced back in 2011.

VIA: Popular Science