An aid for insulin needle destruction for people with failing eyesight

Patients with diabetic retinopathy and failing eyesight have problems in cutting off the needle after insulin injection. We have developed a new aid for attachment to a Becton Dickinson Destruclip needle cutter to simplify needle destruction and make safer handling possible, and studied its effectiveness. The performance time of 10 healthy blindfolded subjects to destroy a needle was compared with and without the aid. The risk of needlestick was also compared. When no aid was used, the time to destroy a needle was on an average: first trial 54 s, second trial 33 s, and third trial 11 s, while with the aid the time was on an average: first trial 16 s, second trial 7 s, and third trial 6 s; thus, the use of the aid shortened the time. Furthermore, without the aid, the frequency of needlestick injury was 1 in 15. With the aid it never occurred. This shows that the new aid for the needle cutter is effective and reduces related injuries.