Revolutionizing Healthcare: How Microjet Devices Could Replace Needle Injections

Small devices inspired by cephalopods may reduce the need for needle injections for medications. Researchers from MIT, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Novo Nordisk developed these devices, as described in a recent paper in Nature. They use “microjets” to enter gastrointestinal tissue and deliver drugs without needles. The team is creating two types: a tethered version for healthcare and an ingestible version for home use.

Giovanni Traverso, a lead author, explains that avoiding needles can improve safety, acceptance, and management of drug delivery systems. Needles require training and pose challenges for disposal and patient comfort. The devices can inject medications radially, suitable for narrow tissues like the esophagus, or axially, ideal for wider areas like the stomach. This directional capability ensures effective delivery into tissue layers, rather than merely dispersing drugs in the lumen.

The size of both ingestible devices is similar to a size 000 pill, measuring 26.1 mm long. In tests on ex vivo tissues, the microjet effectively delivered insulin and other drugs, matching results from injections. Further tests in pig and dog intestines and stomachs also showed success.

However, the safety of swallowing the ingestible devices was not evaluated. Instead, they were inserted into the stomach and intestines. Niren Murthy, a bioengineering professor at UC Berkeley, notes that testing for safe swallowing should be a next step.

The capsules may need to be pH-sensitive to control drug release in the body. If swallowed, the device must prevent premature release in the stomach and ensure correct deployment in the small intestine.