A real life saver - Safe syringes with red alerts!

Imagine a syringe that can alert you that it has already been used once! Sounds like science fiction? No longer! Because such a syringe has taken shape in the form of reality in a science lab! David Swann of Huddersfield University in the United Kingdom has been shortlisted for the biennial World Design Impact Prize, which recognises projects that use industrial design solutions to improve social, economic and environmental quality of life.
More than half of all injections in developing nations involve used or unsterilised needles, according to the WHO, and such injections cause more than 30 per cent of all hepatitis A and B cases and five per cent of all HIV cases. More than 1.3 million people globally die each year because of unsafe injection practices, says the WHO.
Swann’s syringe label rapidly absorbs carbon dioxide to produce a dramatic colour change, switching from colourless to red in two minutes following the syringe’s exposure to air, as it is taken out of its sterile packaging.
The change gives enough time to provide an injection, but alerts doctors and patients if the syringe has been used before, says Swann. He calls it the ABC Syringe (A Behaviour Changing Syringe).
Swann and his team have already tested people’s perception of red syringes on the streets of Mumbai, India. “All participants identified red as a signifier of danger.”
Do you feel safe now? Watch these videos to gain more confidence!

LifeSaver Campaign from SafePoint Trust on Vimeo.

ABC syringe: A behaviour-changing syringe from David Swann on Vimeo.