A time will come soon when safe disposable syringes like Peanut Safe Syringes will be in-thing and people will say goodbye to the old-fashioned syringes which are manipulated for reuse by unscrupulous people for monetary benefit, especially in the developing countries like India
It is catastrophic that a few individuals’ greed and carelessnessare leading tonewinfections every year across the globe. World Health Organisation (WHO) report states that every year around 21 million people get infected with diseases like HIV and Hepatitis, transmitted through reused syringes. It was this disheartening situationthat led Dr Baby Manoj, radiologist, to the invention of safe disposable syringes.
Theuniqueness and identity of the product is conveyed with the name itself, says Baby Manoj. “The two seeds inside a peanut always are protected by natural layers. These seeds cannot be put back into its shells if it is taken out. Our Peanut Safe Syringes also have this quality. These syringes cannot be used for the second time.”
The ordinary syringes can be reused either by simple modifications or replacing the needles. In such cases, risk factor is high as there is chance for infection of diseases through syringes. Though most hospital groups and labs have syringe destroyer, often they do not confirm whether they have been properly destroyed. The advantage of using Peanut Safe Syringes is that after use, the user can destroy the syringe that too in less than 10 seconds. Since the barrel is broken, there is no way for using either the syringe or the needle again.
Peanut Safe Syringes are as user friendly as ordinary syringes. The needle-connecting part of a Peanut Safe Syringe can be broken easily. The needle need not be removed from the syringe. In the process, a protective cover saves the fingers from accidental injury. On the quality front, both the syringe andthe needle have received the approval of the Drug Controller General.
Unlike other syringes, Peanut Safe Syringes need additional processing so as to attach the disposing feature to it.This makes the product much costlier than ordinary syringes. “We are willing to provide it to the healthcare department for a subsidized rate covering only minimal cost and profit,” says Dr Baby, who had filed patent application in 2006.
A recipient of the award for the product from National Research Development Corporation in 2011, Baby is a researcher to the core. “Often research begins with simple modifications of the existing products. It’s the love to face challenges that has been fuelling my research,” says Baby.
Regarding the market for Peanut Safe Syringes, the doctor said he is optimistic. In view of the alarming increase of blood-borne diseases spreading through infected syringes,he hopes that the world would recognise his product and efforts.
Needle less injections is also gaining popularity in the world.‘Jet injection’ makes use of the high pressure narrow jet to inject the medicine to the body. It is painless too. But the problem is that for each patient the skin could be different. For some, it could be thick and for some it could be thin. How deep the injection would go into an individual’s body is still a problem with jet injection system. Or else, it must be customised according to the specifications of each individual, he adds.
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History of syringes
Romans hold the credit for the introduction of syringes. Glass syringes were the first to be in use. They were reused after sterilizing the needle for 10 minutes in the boiling water. But often the emergency factor gave less chance for proper sterilizing. It led to disposable plastic syringes. Eyeing the profit, disposable plastic syringes were used after washing and repacking. Auto disposable syringe was also in use. The defect of auto disposable syringe was that it disabled the piston of the syringe, which does not come directly contact with the body. It can be used again by replacing a component.
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