The end for needles?

Needle phobia could soon be a thing of the past.

A new painless way of delivering drugs through the skin has been developed by doctors. The technique, called microscission, uses a stream of gas to bombard small areas of the skin with tiny crystals of inert aluminium oxide.

The sharp particles remove the rough surface-layer of the skin and create tiny holes. Pain-killing anaesthetics and other drugs can then be administered painlessly with a pad placed on the area, allowing the medicine to seep into the bloodstream.

Volunteers in trials of the technique reported a sensation like a gentle stream of air against the skin.

The US researchers, from the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, wanted to see if they could administer a local anaesthetic to volunteers using the technique. They found the patch of skin was numb within two minutes.

Dr James Weaver, who led the research team, said: "Finding ways to deliver drugs through the skin has always been a challenge.

"To date, only the hypodermic needle has met this need. However, needles are not ideal for patients as piercing the skin is often painful and there is always a risk of bruising."