Self-Administering Vaccine Patch with 100 Needles In the Works

If Mark Prausnitz has it his way, a small, bandage-like device covered with 100 tiny needles will be the way people receive vaccinations in the near future. Prausnitz, a professor at the Georgia Tech School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, has been involved in the research and development of self-administered microneedle vaccine patches for protection against flu, polio and measles for about 20 years.

The tear-shaped patch, which is covered with 100 microscopic needles, would puncture the skin, ultimately dissolving so the vaccine gets into the body. While some may cringe at the thought of so many needles pressed against them, …read more