Evaluation of Pain Reduction in the Administration of Saline Injections by the Usage of Pneumatic Skin Flattening (PSF)

Injections are currently the gold-standard for administrating various medications parenterally. The most significant side-effect related to injections is the accompanying pain. Injection pain is related to the penetration of the skin by the needle and to the mechanical and chemical effects of the drug during and after its injection. This pain remains a major obstacle in medication administration in children as well as in other populations subject to needle-phobia because of the pain experience. The associated pain may thus prevent optimized medical care for these patients.

Current methods to alleviate immediate pain include the utilization of topical anesthesia whereas some patients do not utilize any form of pain relief and simply endure the pain of the injection. Other methods for pain reduction are taking advantage of the applying pressure or vibration to alleviate pain. These methods have resulted in a number of pain relieving devices currently on the market. Such predicate devices primarily involve vibration devices commonly used to alleviate the injection pain. Published data suggests possible use of pressure application mechanism in pain alleviation related to injections.

We suggest here, for the first time, the use of the Pneumatic Skin Flattening (PSF) technology for alleviation of pain associated with injections. The PSF technology is currently used worldwide in the FDA cleared Serenity device (Serenity, Inolase Ltd.) for pain reduction in hair removal. The device generates contact and compression between a transparent sapphire window and the skin. The compression creatures pressure signal which, based on the gate theory, is though to depress the pain associated with the hair removal treatment. We assume the same mechanism would apply for the reduction of pain associated with injections.

Comparison: Intra-Subject pain level change of injection with PSF and without PSF