Syringe 'watch' puts a life-saving allergy shot on your wrist

Syringe 'watch' puts a life-saving allergy shot on your wrist

  If you're prone to serious allergic reactions, carrying an epinephrine shot (such as an EpiPen) could be vital. Those shots are often bulky, though, and there's a real chance you could lose yours right before you need it. Students at Rice University have a (relatively) simple solution: put the shot on your wrist. They've developed a wearable, the EpiWear, that hides a foldable epinephrine syringe in a device not much larger than a watch. If you're in an emergency, you just need to unfold it, flick a safety lever and push a button when you're ready to inject the medicine into your thigh.

The team is keenly aware of safety concerns. The three-piece folding design makes it effectively impossible to trigger the needle by accident, and there are plans for a case that would prevent the button from touching anything until the shot is necessary.

EpiWear is still very young, to the point where it's made of 3D-printed parts. The students plan to refine it, however, including a smaller, more refined look that would be more acceptable on a night out. They're even considering adding watch functionality so that it does more than sit on your wrist in ordinary situations. Should it become a practical reality, you might not have to feel awkward about carrying a life-saving injection with you -- and you'd never have to worry about leaving it behind.