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Ed Yeates ReportingA Salt Lake research clinic has started testing a new kind of skin patch that, down the road, just might eliminate needle injections.
For people who are afraid of needles, this new high-tech patch might be what they've been waiting for.
Needles! It's the "hurt" that drives many away from getting shots or having blood drawn.
But how about a skin patch that takes the hurt away, or that in long term applications may deliver all kinds of medications.
It's a transdermal patch. Most of us are familiar with it. But what makes this different is the little energy source that's attached to the patch, which drives the drug into the skin.
In these double blind studies, Bernardo Hernandez may or may not be getting Lidocane, but he is feeling the device work.
Bernardo Hernandez/ Clinical Trial Volunteer: "It has a tingling sensation. I would have to say, starting to sting a little bit."
But no pain. In concept, the patch could drive something like Lidocane deep enough that a patient would feel nothing from an IV stick or blood test.
Hernandez: "I hardly felt anything. I felt the pressure of the needle going in. That was it."
What makes this work? A small battery chip that sends a positive and negative charge into the patch, changing the polarity of the drug and opening the skin pores.
Like Bernardo, Linda Monson is volunteering for these studies to help others.
Linda Monson/ Clinical Trial Volunteer: "I had a little grandson up at Primary Children's Hospital for eight days. He had a lot of iv's and blood draws. It was painful. It was scary for him."
Beyond pain relief? Instead of shots, imagine Iontophoresis patches delivering flu or immunization vaccines, diabetic drugs, and more.
Lynn Webster, M.D./ Lifetree Clinical Research Center: "I think it's conceivable that we could use this in a number of different ways we haven't even thought about."
