Dissolving Microneedle Vaccine Patch

College of Engineering Unit(s): 
Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Engineering

Team: 
Gabriel Kerner, Ellie Yamamoto, Emily Forsman and Riley Prince

Project Description: 

The dissolving microneedle vaccine patch works by allowing the vaccine to diffuse into the bloodstream through very small needles, called microneedles. These microneedles are so small—they’re only about 1 millimeter tall—that you will hardly feel them pierce your skin. It’s a lot less painful than traditional vaccines! Also, since the needles dissolve into the skin, there is no need to worry about any biohazards (contaminated needles). I’m sure we’ve all experienced the dreaded pain of having a long needle jabbed into our skin, but with the vaccine patch, the pain would no longer be an issue. Welcome to pain-free medicine!

This patch was designed with convenience and accessibility in mind while guaranteeing a pain-free experience. You don’t even have to go to the doctor’s office to have them administered! Going to visit the doctor is never a fun experience. You have to drive there, check in, wait in the waiting room, and typically go through a normal check-up before you get the vaccine. Luckily, the vaccine patch provides a wait-free experience. It’s self administered, meaning that all you have to do is simply take the patch out of the packaging and place it on your arm. The vaccine only takes a few minutes to diffuse into the bloodstream, and then you’re good to go! You can purchase the patch from your local pharmacy, such as Walgreens or Fred Meyer, and it’s even possible to have the patch delivered directly to your door. Talk about convenience! If you feel uncomfortable administering the patch on your own, you’re more than welcome to have it administered at the doctor’s office, like with traditional vaccines, or have it administered at the pharmacy. The professional healthcare worker will simply place the patch on your arm and wait with you for a few minutes for the vaccine to diffuse.

Children and newborns can also use the vaccine patch! (Keep in mind that the vaccine patch presented here at the EXPO is the adult size—the size for children and newborns would be much smaller.) You would never have to experience taking your screaming child to the doctor’s to get their vaccines ever again, earning you more freetime and extra peace and quiet! The retail price of the vaccine would be about $70-$75 without insurance. We want to ensure that it’s accessible for everyone, regardless of whether or not they have insurance. The vaccine patch may even be free in some cases, such as to help administer the COVID-19 vaccines. Accessibility is especially important—the more people that are vaccinated, the more often we can all live our lives disease-free.

Future patch developments include a patch that changes color after the vaccine has been administered as well as children’s patches that have fun designs on them, such as their favorite animals and TV show characters! It’s no doubt that the vaccine patch is an absolute game-changer. Say goodbye to long waits at the doctor’s, painful needles, and screaming children and hello to pain-free, wait-free, and scream-free vaccines!

Project Communication Piece(s): 
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PDF icon undergrad_expo_poster.pptx_1.pdf1.61 MB
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