Multimedia Gallery
Hollow Metal Microneedles
Hollow Metal Microneedles
Array of hollow metal microneedles. The needles taper from a tip diameter of 75 micrometers to a base diameter of 300 micrometers over their 500 micrometer length. The wall thickness is ten micrometers. A conventional 27-gauge needle is shown for comparison.
An array of tiny metal needles can draw blood for glucose monitoring or other diagnostic tests with less pain than a conventional needle (shown in foreground for comparison.)
This research was supported in part by National Science Foundation grant BES 98-13321. (Date of Image: April 2002)
Credit: Courtesy S. P. Davis, M. R. Prausnitz, M. G. Allen, Georgia Institute of Technology
Special Restrictions: Additional reproduction of this image for any purpose other than personal must be cleared by one of the following: Mark R. Prausnitz, mark.prausnitz@chbe.gatech.edu; or George Allen, mems@mail.ee.gatech.edu; or contact the Center for MEMS and Microsystems Technologies at Georgia Tech, mems@mail.ee.gatech.edu.
Images and other media in the National Science Foundation Multimedia Gallery are available for use in print and electronic material by NSF employees, members of the media, university staff, teachers and the general public. All media in the gallery are intended for personal, educational and nonprofit/non-commercial use only.
Images credited to the National Science Foundation, a federal agency, are in the public domain. The images were created by employees of the United States Government as part of their official duties or prepared by contractors as "works for hire" for NSF. You may freely use NSF-credited images and, at your discretion, credit NSF with a "Courtesy: National Science Foundation" notation.
Additional information about general usage can be found in Conditions.
Also Available:
Download the high-resolution TIF version of the image. (1.8 MB)
Use your mouse to right-click (Mac users may need to Ctrl-click) the link above and choose the option that will save the file or target to your computer.