California, May 31, 2005
Gary Patel
No one enjoys getting a shot with a hypodermic needle,
but was a new design really needed? Absolutely, says
Dayabhai 'Danny" Patel, a plastics engineer who
started his own custom injection-molding company,
Computerized Plastics Molding (Irvine, CA). So Patel
came up with a needleless system that is virtually
painless and never breaks the skin.
Dayabhai Patel went to India to bring his wife and
young son to the U.S. His family needed inoculations
before they could leave the country. "Afterwards,
my son cried for hours," Patel sadly recalls.
In addition to the general discomfort, repeatedly
puncturing the epidermis with a conventional hypo
leaves marks and can invite infections. "Most
injectors are spring loaded and have metal parts:
They must be sterilized between shots, are cumbersome
and heavy, and quite costly. We knew we could do better,"
Patel adds.
The J-Tip Needleless Injector is a single
use, pre-sterilized, disposable unit which is similar
to the customary syringe in the delivery of medications
that are presently used by the diabetic for injection
of insulin. The J-Tip is filled in a similar manner
to the needle syringe. Each sterile disposable J-Tip
Needleless Injector contains it's own power source
(CO2) to deliver the medication through the skin into
the subcutaneous tissue.
A diabetic person must administer thousands of injections,
each one as painful as the first one. Thanks to the
J-TIP this painful situation can be virtually eliminated.
You can not change the need of insulin in order to
live a normal life, But you can use a simple device
that will substantially reduce pain and anxiety each
time.
The J-Tip is revolutionary means of delivering medication
through the skin in convenient manner without the
use of needles. The J-Tip injection device reduce
the relative risk and discomfort of puncturing the
epidermis with a hypodermic needle. J-TIP is primarily
designed for self administration such as delivery
of insulin by diabetics. The J-TIP is a new and unique
concept, which does not require an expensive instrument
to perform the injection. The J-TIP Injector itself
is single use, disposable syringe which incorporates
its own Co2 power source.
In use, J-Tip is loaded by the patients with the
desired dose, placed against the skin at the selected
site, and triggered by thumb pressure on a trigger.
The medication is forced into subcutaneous tissue
by high pressure gas in a fraction of a second, without
noticeable discomfort. With the injection complete,
Injector is discarded. when the vial is empty, discard
the vial along with the Transporter and Adapter. The
J-TIP Injector is an all plastic molded unit about
4 inches in length and weighing app. 9 grams. Its
very small size makes it very convenient to carry
and inconspicuous to use.
What J-Tip does is use pressurised gas to force the
drug across the skin, from where it is absorbed by
blood vessels. The idea is old. In the seventies,
the US military used gas guns loaded with pressurised
carbon dioxide to inoculate troops. Patel doesn’t
reveal what gas is used in J-Tip: it’s a trade
secret. But he demonstrates how the four-inch device
is used. Each single-use syringe has a pressurised
gas-power source. After loading it with the drug dose,
the user must place it against the skin and press
a trigger using his thumb. The trigger breaks a seal,
releasing gas that drives a plunger and forces the
drug across the skin.
Patel’s company, National Medical Products,
obtained approval from the U.S. FDA and CE in 1993.
When he sent it for further tests to the Medical School,
University College, London, medical journals reported
on it and it became popular.
Patel first marketed J-Tip in Saudi Arabia and Europe
in the mid-nineties. ‘‘The medical fraternity
liked my product, but since it was completely new,
there were reservations,’’ he says.
Some of the best hospitals in the U.S. are using
it — Cedar Sinai in Los Angeles, the medical
school at Stanford University, the Boston Children’s
Hospital, and the Chicago Medic al School.zBaxter,
a Chigago-based healthcare company, offered Patel
$ 100 million for his needle-less syringe technology.
‘‘I wasn’t willing to settle for that
sum,’’ he says. ‘‘Besides, I think
I’ll earn more marketing the product on my own.’’
J-Tip now sells for $ 2 apiece, but Patel plans to
bring down the price to 20-30 cents. His company is
in negotiation with the Singapore government for marketing
J-Tip to it’s hospitals.
Dayabhai Patel belongs to Chadasana village, near
Mansa town of Gujarat. He graduated from the M.G.
Science College in Ahmedabad and received his masters
in plastic engineering from the University of Massachusetts.He
worked for Johnson & Johnson and startec his own
company in the U.S.
