Next Generation Needle Technology: The Comfort Entry Needle
CWSF · 2026 Health & Wellness Gold Medal
Overview
Needle injections can be painful because they deform the skin, especially when larger needles are needed to deliver viscous fluids. In this project, a patented needle design that requires 57% less force to pierce the skin than a standard needle and costs only $0.15–$0.30 to manufacture was developed. This needle uses a microneedle to first pierce the skin, followed by a larger needle to deliver the fluid. Convenience sampling, comparative statistics, and controlled bench testing were all factors during the test process. Insertion force, placement success, flowrate, and ergonomics were all tested. The results showed a significant reduction in insertion force and improved placement accuracy, while still maintaining efficient fluid flow. This project addresses a key engineering tradeoff and shows that needle performance can be improved through simple geometric redesign without sacrificing flow efficiency.
Awards (2)
- Gold Medal
- Selected for CWSF 2026
Competition history
- CWSF 2026
Related projects
ISEF · 2015
Engineered Intraocular Injection Guide (IIG): Pain Reduction in Ophthalmic Disease Treatment
CWSF · 2026
Iron Repair, With Micro-Care: A Novel Dissolvable Bio-inspired Microneedle Patch for Iron Delivery
ISEF · 2025
3D Printing Hollow Micro-Needle Patches for Caring Terminal Cancer
ISEF · 2017
Development of a Novel 3D Printed 2-Stage Hollow Fiber Filter to Reduce Pain on Injection of a Propofol Emulsion
Closest projects by meaning, across every fair and year in the corpus.