Researchers find ways to automate the insertion of needles

Around one in ten Americans is a trypanophobe, stricken with a dread of needles. Some may have inherited a tendency to faint when jabbed; others develop the phobia after a painful injection or a botched blood sample. Sadly, their fears are occasionally well founded. Central venous catheters, or central lines, are commonly used with critically ill patients to administer drugs, fluids, food or blood products close to the heart.

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