By NORA YANG| Updated: 2026-06-18
A needle-free injector is a medical device that uses high-pressure jet technology to deliver medication without needles. It utilizes instantaneous high pressure to create a high-speed jet of medication, typically exceeding 100 m/s, that penetrates the skin. The concept was first proposed by the French scientist Beclard in 1866, and in 1933, Robert Hingson developed a modern prototype based on the principle of oil pipeline jetting. It was used for mass vaccination during World War II, and in 2012, China's independently developed QS-M model was approved for market launch.
Its core structure includes a medication tube, a pressure device, and a safety lock. The operation process consists of three steps: pressurization, medication aspiration, and injection. Needle-free injectors are superior to traditional insulin pens in lowering diabetes indicators such as HbA1c and postprandial blood glucose, and can reduce insulin dosage. The QS-P series was launched in 2018, and the "X Needle-Free Drug Delivery Technology Platform" will be released in 2025 to realize the development of a drug-device integrated injection pen. Key advantages include reduced pain, avoidance of cross-infection and subcutaneous induration; disadvantages include higher price and the need to learn new operating methods. This technology has been extended to the fields of growth hormones, GLP1 and other drugs, and has been put into trial in the field of aquatic vaccine injection.
