Created by a trio of undergraduates at Rice University is a 3D-printed device, fitted with a hypodermic needle, which would supposedly make injections relatively painless.
The project, called ‘Comfortably Numb’, conceived by students Mike Hua, Andy Zhang and Greg Allison, targets people whose threshold for pain is especially low, as well as procedures that involve injections on more sensitive areas of the body.
The answer to this problem comes in the form of a 3D-printed palm-sized canister that twists to break the seal between a small amount of water and chemical ammonium nitrate within, resulting in a rapid endothermic reaction that cools the metal cap on the device to 4.5 degrees celsius, effectively numbing the skin it is placed on right before the needle punctures into it.
The canister itself looks nothing like the typical fear-inducing syringe, which may soothe pain-fearing patients at a psychological level and also address the public health issue where patients avoid medical treatments involving injections.
Watch the video below that explains how the device works, and read more about the project here.
[via Fast Company, images via Rice University ]