Objective: Needle-free jet injection is a drug delivery technique that uses the momentum of the fluid drug to break through the skin. This technique has recently also been applied to blood release, aiming to collect samples from capillaries in the skin without needing a lancet prick. This work provides new information about the wound geometry and tissue disruption caused by shallow jet injection with circular-shaped and slot-shaped jets.
Methods: We use histological analysis to compare the disruption of tissue, including blood vessels, caused by lancet-pricking and jet injection with a circular-shaped jet and a lancet-inspired slot-shaped jet.
Results: Intradermal injection into porcine skin using a slot-shaped jet disrupted more vascular endothelium in the tissue than a circular-shaped jet and did so at a smaller penetration depth with smaller wound volume. Our results suggest that shallow jet injections may have the potential to release more capillary blood than a lancet prick.
Conclusion: These findings demonstrate that a reversible jet injector might be used in diabetes management as a device to release and collect blood samples, in addition to being used to deliver insulin.
Significance: Tissue disruption is crucial to consider when using jet injection to deliver drugs and release capillary blood.