No description available.

Increasing rates of infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C, overdose deaths, and social concerns around injection drug use have resulted in the need to evaluate new initiatives for harm reduction in Canada. This study examined experts' views on the feasibility of, benefits of, and barriers to the establishment of safer injection rooms in Canada. The qualitative model involved interviews (N = 6) with a range of professionals in the area of addictions. Analysis of the data revealed that there is an urgent need for expanded and improved harm reduction strategies, that safer injection rooms could offer many benefits to Canadians, that several debates exist with regard to the policies and services related to safer injection rooms, and that safer injection rooms, as well as alternative initiatives, must be considered if Canada wishes to promote health among drug users and wider communities. The implications of the findings for social work and further research are discussed. Recommendations include expanded educational initiatives for professionals and the public, intensive research related to the specific Canadian context, and the establishment of a trial protocol.

Plastic hypodermic needles are a potential solution to the problem of disease spread through needle reuse. Plastics could be used to potentially reduce needle reuse as they are easier to destroy than steel. A key issue in their acceptance is the force required to penetrate a patient; a smaller force is associated with less pain. The effect that needle parameters have on the penetration force is studied in an effort to better understand how to reduce penetration forces and increase the success of penetrations for plastic needles. These parameters - geometry, tip radius, diameter, material, and lubricant - are studied through penetration, buckling, and coefficient of friction testing. The tests are conducted on steel needles, which serve as a control group, as well as two varieties of plastic needles. The outcome is a quantitative understanding of the effect that the various parameters have on penetration force, which is used to inform plastic needle design.

Thesis (M.H.A.)--University of Michigan, 1962.

Thesis (M.H.A.)--University of Michigan, 1962.

No description available.

The cochlea, or inner ear, is a space fully enclosed within the temporal bone of the skull, except for two membrane-covered portals connecting it to the middle ear space. One of these portals is the round window, which is covered by the Round Window Membrane (RWM). A longstanding clinical goal is to gain reliable and precise access to the cochlea with the purpose of delivering therapeutics to treat a plethora of auditory and vestibular disorders, or to aspirate fluids for diagnostic purposes. Standard of care for several difficult-to-treat diseases calls for injection of a therapeutic substance through the tympanic membrane into the middle ear space, after which a portion of the substance diffuses across the RWM into the cochlea. The efficacy of this technique is limited by an inconsistent rate of molecular transport across the RWM. Other solutions for delivery require either traumatic drilling through the bone of the cochlea, or perforating the delicate RWM, which is prone to rupturing with the use of regular surgical tools. For conducting precision diagnostics, even fewer options exist. In our research group, utilizing a newly available technology called Two-Photon Lithography, (2PP) we have developed a suite of ultra-sharp microneedles that are able to create repeatable and reliable perforations in the RWM without tearing. These holes were seen to spontaneously heal within 48 hours, and did not cause any audiological or functional consequences. Furthermore, we have designed needles that can, while inserted into the cochlea, inject or aspirate fluid of microliter quantities, to and from the inner ear, safely. In this thesis, I will discuss the development of these microneedles: their methods, design, use, and modeling. The results show that the microneedles hold great promise to diagnose and treat hearing and balance disorders.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Montana, 2007. / Title from title screen. Description based on contents viewed Apr. 2, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 87-92).

Microneedles have been developed as a minimally invasive alternative to painful hypodermic needles to deliver modern biotherapeutics. Previously, several in-vitro and in-vivo animal studies have been conducted to show that microneedles increase skin permeability to a wide range of molecules that cannot cross the skin using conventional transdermal patches due to the skin's stratum corneum barrier. However, only a limited number of studies have been performed to study microneedle-based drug delivery in human subjects. Therefore, the objective of this study was to perform the first-in-humans microneedle studies to: a) characterize skin repair responses to solid microneedle insertion to determine the extent of increased skin permeability coupled with predictions of pharmacokinetics of drug delivered through premeabilized skin, b) determine the effect of hollow microneedle-based infusion parameters on flow conductivity of skin and pain and thereby identify barriers to fluid flow into the skin from hollow microneedles, c) assess the safety and efficacy of systemic therapeutic effects through measurement of pharmacokinetic parameters, pain and irritation for microneedle-based insulin delivery in type 1 diabetes subjects, and d) assess the safety and efficacy of local therapeutic effects though delivery of lidocaine to the skin. Results showed for the first time that solid microneedle-treated skin reseals rapidly (< 2 h) in the absence of occlusion whereas occluded skin reseals slowly (3-40 h) depending on microneedle geometry as determined by skin impedance measurements. Increased microneedle length, number, and cross-sectional area led to slower recovery kinetics in the presence of occlusion. This thesis also demonstrated that the flow conductivity of skin decreased as fluid was infused to the dermis through hollow microneedles due to the dense structure of the dermis. Microneedle retraction, low flow rates, and the addition of hyaluronidase helped increase flow conductivity. Microneedles were able to deliver 800 µl of saline to the dermis without causing significant pain. Further, microneedle-based insulin delivery in type 1 diabetes subjects revealed that microneedles provided faster pharmacokinetics and improved glycaemic control than conventional subcutaneous catheters. Lastly, microneedle-based lidocaine injection demonstrated that microneedles were less painful, as effective, and more preferred than hypodermic needles in anesthetizing clinically relevant areas.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Daily more than 300 000 health care workers in South Africa are to a lesser or greater extent exposed to the risk of deadly viruses which can be transferred through neediestick injuries. It is estimated that currently 9,8 million people in South Africa are HIV positive. This high incidence of HIV has a great impact on the danger of infection from neediestick injuries. It is estimated that 44 000 neediestick injuries takes place annually in South Africa. Despite such a high risk there are currently few safety regulations or official efforts to prevent or determine the true impact and incidence of needlesticks in South Africa. This study project investigated the number of neediestick injuries that could potentially be prevented by the use of needles with safety features and estimated the ranges of benefits and costs of using such safety devices. With the financial constraints that are imposed on South African hospitals, infection control through the use of safety syringes makes economic sense. Prevention of infections is clearly far cheaper than cure. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Daagliks word meer as 300 000 gesondheids personeel in Suid Afrika in 'n mindere of meerdere mate blootgestel aan die risiko van lewens gevaarlike viruse wat deur middel van naaldprik ongelukke oorgedra kan word. Hierdie risiko word spesifiek in Suid Afrika verhoog deur die hoë insidensie van HIV. Dit word beraam dat daar tans 9,8 miljoen mense in Suid Afrika is wat HIV positief is. Daar word beraam dat daar tans 44 000 naaldprik ongelukke per jaar in Suid Afrika plaasvind. Ten spyte van die hierdie hoë risko is daar tans min veiligheids regulasies of amptelike pogings om die omvang en voorkoming van naaldprik insidente te bepaal nie. Hierdie studie het die getal naaldprikke wat voorkom kan word deur die gebruik van veiligheids inspuitnaalde ondersoek en het die voordele en kostes van sulke veiligheidsmaatreëls beraam. Gegewe die finasiële druk wat ons tans in Suid Afrikaanse hospitale ondervind, is bewys dat die gebruik van veiligheids inspuitnaalde ekonomiese sin maak. Voorkoming op hierdie manier is bewys as 'n ver goedkoper opsie as nasorg.