Needle-Free Jet Injection Revisited

Jet injection was developed in the 1940’s, conceived by Robert Hingson and invented by Oscar Banker, to vaccinate billions of people who needed immunizations with the speed of a machine gun. The results proved convincing as, by 1990, no more smallpox epidemics were reported by the Center for Disease Control [1,2]. Jet injection became more popular afterwards among veterinarians. Despite more than 50 years of clinical use, jet injection technology has still not reached its full potential [3] as a strategic tool to deliver rapid intradermal injections painlessly in clinical dermatology. Its general acceptance in routine dermatological practice remained low due to several concerns such as : risk of cross infection [4], occasional pain [5], bruising [6], perforation [7], damage to delicate nerve and vessel structures [8], accidental injury into the operator’s finger [9] and cellulitis [10]. Technical difficulties : such as “splash and splatter” after each discharge, occasional clogging up of the orifice of the device and difficulty with its sterilization also discouraged the use of some jet injectors. Consequently, many practitioners still prefer the syringe-needle method of administration over jet injection to deliver an intradermal medication.