Just about everybody in the world gets a vaccine at some time of his/her life, many of us will have several injections and some even daily, for instance patients with diabetes mellitus. The stitch is unpleasant and there are even people who avoid going to the doctors because of their needle phobia.
An injection does not necessarily cause pain. A moskito pushes its sting through our skin without us even noting it. The secret is the conic shape of the fine sting. Masayuki Okano from Japan imitated this shape for production of injection needles which he has patented Nanopass. The tapering of the needle forces the medical liquid to flow like a vortex, thus entering the human body as quick as by traditional needles.
A special process of stamping the metal makes mass production possible, enabling the company Terumo from Japan to sell the needles at a price only slightly higher than traditional, cylinder-shaped injection systems. This is an example for innovations which inspired by nature alleviate life applying just geometry and physics. Who could have imagined that a moskito is so useful?
