Relief! Did you know there is already injection that doesn't hurt?

You need to get a vaccine (flu shot, for example), give a bully in front of friends saying it is quiet, but when you enter the room with the nurse and the injection, fear takes over your being? When that needle goes through your skin, then, does it look like you're going to pass out at any moment?

If you have identified with the above situation - much like this one in this famous video - you can rest assured that another new needle-less injection technology has been around for some time and is being used extensively in many countries. The novelty, called Stratis PharmaJet, brings the relief for vaccination of children and many fearful adults out there.

In addition to this device, you have already checked here at Mega Curioso other needle-injecting projects being developed around the world, such as this one from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and these little records created by the Bill Gates Foundation.

Instead of a cry, a smile

For kids, when vaccination is done with ordinary injection (instead of harmless but miraculous droplets), the timing of this process can be a torment with a lot of crying, tantrum and kicking.

With needle-free technology, the vaccination process is easy and can be fun for those who expect pain, but only feel an object against the skin. Check out a video of a vaccination done in a Cambodian community with Stratis and follow the serenity of the children.

How it works?

There are already some types of needleless injections being used and under development. In the case of the Stratis device, it was created by PharmaJet in collaboration with PATH, a Seattle-based global health nonprofit organization.

The device is the size of an average flashlight with the tip of the injectable vaccine at its tip. The injector operates with an internal spring, which is preset to a specific level of compression by the manufacturer during production. The level setting depends on the type of disposable syringe, jet injector, desired pressure and depth of delivery of the content (subcutaneous or intramuscular).

With the injector “loaded”, simply push the button for the spring to release the immunizer. Once this is done, the vaccine is delivered through a small opening at the injection tip about the thickness of a human hair. Spring pressure creates a "liquid needle" that pushes the contents through the skin without any pain at a speed of 167 meters per second. Then the tip automatically deactivates, preventing reuse.

Stratis was prequalified by the World Health Organization (WHO) this year, meaning it could be used by WHO, GAVI Alliance and UNICEF for future mass immunization efforts.

Some types of needleless injection have been in place since the 1940s, but the old forms lacked the features that prevent cross-contamination like today's disposable jet injectors. Even Batman, in "Batman Begins, " used a needleless gun to give his girlfriend a toxin antidote. Check out the video of the ever-visionary Batman.