Tongji team released an autonomous intelligent needle-free vaccine injection robot The pictures in this article are all provided by Tongji University
Many people are afraid of injections, can future vaccinations achieve needle-free injections?
On January 17, the surging news (www.thepaper.cn) reporter learned from Tongji University that recently, the team of associate professor Qi Peng of the university officially released the first independent intelligent needleless vaccine injection robot in China, which applies the world's leading human body three-dimensional model recognition algorithm and adaptive robot technology, combined with the design of mechatronic needleless syringes, and unites a number of technology companies (Feixi Technology Company, Beijing Kuaishuer Medical Technology Co., Ltd.) was jointly developed by the China Cardiovascular Doctor Innovation Club (CCI), which is the first time that this complete technical verification scheme has been released in China.
How is the injection location chosen, and what is the principle behind needleless injection?
Qi Peng introduced that first of all, the automatic vaccine injection robot can automatically identify the designated vaccine injection location on the human body, such as the commonly used deltoid muscle part of the upper limb of the human body. At present, the robot shoots the human body through a simple three-dimensional point cloud camera (standing or sitting), which can quickly and automatically fit the three-dimensional model of the corresponding part of the human body (such as the shoulder and elbow area) and accurately identify the vaccine injection site and injection angle.
At the same time, the seven-axis force control adaptive robot arm used by the robot has high-precision, fast response force control performance, and the application of high-precision force control lamination algorithm can ensure that the end of the syringe is vertically and closely fitted to the injection site, improving the injection effect and reducing the pain experience.
Needleless injection then takes advantage of the instantaneous pressure generated by the pressure source to push the agent through a very fine nozzle, forming a jet that passes through the skin at high speed and directly into the treatment site. The liquid is pre-filled or aspirated into a container (tube) with a very fine nozzle, which is a sterile disposable use and discarded after the liquid is injected to ensure safe use.
Qi Peng introduced that for the hospital application scenario of vaccine injection, the current robot injection system adopts air pressure drive technology, which has the advantage of being suitable for rapid continuous injection. The liquid injection can be completed in less than half a second, ensuring the efficiency of the injection during the peak period of the vaccine injection. In addition, the injection accuracy can be accurate to 0.01mL, which can be applied to the requirements of different vaccines on the injection dose. It also has the function of injection depth regulation, which can be applied to different types of vaccines injected subcutaneously or intramuscularly, or can meet the injection needs of different groups of people.
In terms of safety of use, the needleless syringe eliminates the fear of needles and does not have the risk of needle scratches, mainly because the principle of needleless injection is to first press the drug tube on the pre-injected site, at this time the patient does not have any pain or discomfort, and the injection is started after ensuring that the injection conditions are sufficient, and the liquid is instantly injected into the skin. If the injection is not initiated if the patient moves before the injection, this injection process is ideally suited to be done in the form of robotic automation.
According to the team, needle-free injection will greatly reduce the work burden of medical staff, improve the efficiency and effect of vaccine injection, combined with automation equipment and robotic technology, will help efficiently complete the needle-free injection process, needle-free vaccine injection method and robot technology combination complement each other.