Syringe safety

A re-design of the conventional needle and syringe has earned a Northumbria student a national award.

Christopher Holden, who is in his final year of a Design for Industry degree course at Northumbria University, won a prize of £3,000 and a three-month internship at NCR Financial Solutions after winning the contest run by the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce).

His design - named the MediDome - seeks to eliminate needle stick injuries, cross–contamination of blood-borne viruses such as HIV and hepatitis, as well as simplifying and speeding up mass immunisations.

To use the MediDome, a sterile cover is removed to expose an anaesthetic, antiseptic adhesive which sticks to the patient’s skin before the needle is injected.

The MediDome’s adhesive cover also acts as a security device as it changes colour if the product has been ruptured or tampered with.

The mechanism is designed for single use only, making it impossible for syringes to be shared and blood-borne diseases to be passed on.