A trio of freshman engineers at Rice University who call themselves team Comfortably Numb have been tasked with the challenge of making the process of needle injection into skin much less painful. In response, the team has come up with the idea of using the same endothermic reaction that’s used in cold compress packs to numb skin immediately before the needle comes in contact. The device is currently external, however the next step is to incorporate the endothermic device inside the cap of a needle for a more convenient experience.
Our device will be eventually be integrated with the cap of a needle, so that the nurse or doctor can get the needle, cap and device in one assembly. We wanted something that was very time efficient and found that cold was the most time efficient, rather than the spray-ons and creams. Our device would take 20-30 seconds to start working. We found that the actually the creams and the sprays costs a lot of money but our device would only cost around two dollars. So with our solution the problem will be solved more affectively efficiently and through more integration.
images via Rice University
