The pointy edge of medical invention

The disposable hypodermic syringe, a notable New Zealand contribution to medical science. Photo: Getty Images
The disposable hypodermic syringe, a notable New Zealand contribution to medical science. Photo: Getty Images
They are part of everyday life in New Zealand, things of here or invented here which are part of the fabric of our being. Today Mike Houlahan looks at the story of the disposable hypodermic syringe - a true New Zealand icon.

An injection normally induces a surge of pain rather than pride, but a little bit of Kiwi ingenuity is in use every time you receive an inoculation or have a blood test.

Syringes are an ancient medical tool. The oldest date back to Roman times.

Metal and glass versions were invented in the 19th century, but for about 100 years they were a problematic tool for medical practitioners. Because of the risk of cross contamination they needed to be well sterilised before reuse, a process which often damaged the syringe.

With the development of more injectable drugs, most notably insulin treatment for diabetes, came the need for a better syringe.

Both all-glass and all-plastic syringes were developed in the late 1940s, but Timaru man Colin Murdoch is the person generally credited with inventing the disposable plastic hypodermic syringe.

Mr Murdoch, a pharmacist and veterinarian, registered his syringe patent in 1956, at the age of 27.

However, the eventual holder of 46 patents had been developing his own inventions long before that.

Colin had had a youthful fascination with chemistry. He developed his own gunpowder at the age of 10, and his mechanical aptitude allowed him to follow up by building his own firearm soon after.

While following in his father's footsteps and studying pharmacy, Mr Murdoch developed an interest in syringes and safety.

Mr Murdoch died in 2008 and according to his obituary in the British medical journal The Lancet, the idea for the disposable hypodermic syringe came to him while he was playing with a ballpoint pen.

While clicking the pen and watching the ink chamber go up and down, its similarity to the operation of a syringe was obvious.

Given the disposability of the pen, there should be no reason why syringes could not also be disposable, Mr Murdoch reasoned.

The disposable syringe is not Mr Murdoch's only legacy. The silent burglar alarm, the childproof bottle cap and the tranquilliser gun are among his other inventions.

Uptake of Mr Murdoch's new syringe was slow, but multinational companies moved swiftly. Their own versions of the device dominated the market, leaving Mr Murdoch largely unrewarded and generally unrecognised.

''He always says that having a patent gave you the right to sue, but not the money to do so,'' his son David said.

''And he took solace in the fact that his inventions were being put to good use.''

But not always - Mr Murdoch probably could not have foreseen that his invention would play a role in spreading the non-medical use of intravenous drugs.

But the positives far outweigh the negatives.

Millions of disposable syringes are used daily for medical procedures worldwide, syringes feature prominently in many lists of the most important medical inventions, and in 1999 Time magazine named Mr Murdoch one of the 100 most influential people of the South Pacific.

So, with the next flu jab or pain-relieving injection you have, you can take some lasting patriotic satisfaction along with your short-term sting.

mike.houlahan@odt.co.nz

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