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The Modern Syringe
A New Zealand Invention.
In 2024, Our Health Journeys partnered with Saint Kentigern College in Auckland and challenged a number of students to conduct research into an aspect of the medical history of Aotearoa New Zealand. The students, ranging from Years 8-13, produced their research in written, oral, or video format and the top projects were chosen for publication to Our Health Journeys. A new project was published weekly following the completion of the project, until late October 2024.
THE MODERN SYRINGE: A NEW ZEALAND INVENTION
The invention of a syringe by a little-known New Zealander, Colin Murdoch, has changed the medical industry. Today, syringes help doctors draw blood, apply the annual flu vaccine, and inject anaesthetics. Without the modern syringes cross-contamination would be prevalent, leading to epidemics, infections, and death. Colin Murdoch’s invention of the disposable plastic hypodermic syringe has prevented the spread of diseases, while the simplicity of the design has made it accessible to everyone.
The first syringes were made from unconventional materials and were unsafely utilised. The Greeks administered ointments into the veins of animals with goose quills and hollow reeds. By the 1660s, intravenous injections in humans began, but the lack of sterilisation in previously used needles and the tendency to apply excessive amounts of drugs led to fatalities. This delayed the utilisation of syringes on humans until the mid-19th century. Alexander Wood managed to refine old syringe designs into a glass model. His version of the syringe was professionally constructed and delivered drugs in safe controlled quantities. Wood conducted numerous experiments with his new syringe on his patients to treat localised pain. Wood’s design had hardly changed until major problems were realised in the 20th century. Population increases and the Spanish Flu meant that more syringes needed to be cheaply manufactured. Notably, previously used glass syringes had to be sterilised in a time-intensive process. These syringes had to be cleaned with anti-septic solutions, autoclaves, or had to be heated as improper sanitisation led to the rampant spread of diseases. A. H. Gregson said in a 1962 British Medical Journal, regarding non-disposable syringes “A considerable outlay is needed, a continuous small replacement cost, and a lot of man-hours”.
Colin Murdoch was a crucial New Zealand inventor who would revolutionise the syringe. He was born on the 6th of February 1929 in Christchurch. At age ten Murdoch’s passion for the natural world and chemistry led him to manufacture his own gunpowder while discovering that ignition could be achieved by combining certain nitrate compounds with sulphuric acid. Later in life he decided to pursue a career in veterinary medicine, studying at The College of Pharmacy in Wellington from 1948 to 1953. During this time Murdoch started considering cross-contamination caused by unsanitised syringes. In 1952, on a plane ride from Auckland to Christchurch, Murdoch suddenly got a bright idea.
Inspired by his fountain pen, Murdoch envisioned a syringe, not made of expensive glass, but rather made of cheap plastic. Murdoch’s idea had a free-moving piston within a chamber. Movement of the piston pushes medication out of a metallic needle, located at the bottom of the design. The syringe had a screw-on covering over the needle and a cap to cover the piston. This meant that the syringe was disposable and prevented damage and penetration of disease to the needle and its contents. Most importantly, the syringe came prefilled meaning it there was no need for sterilisation. Murdoch sketched his idea down during the plane-ride and began thinking about the manufacturing of the syringe.
The development of the design came with a unique set of challenges. Murdoch studied plastics engineering and produced a working model at his home in Timaru. He brought the prototype to the New Zealand Health Department but was rejected for practical use. A friend of Murdoch, Ray Avery, stated that they “said it was too futuristic and would not be adopted by medical staff or be accepted by patients”. After filing his first patents of the syringe, Murdoch stopped working on the design due to a lack of funding. Development resumed after his patents were approved and Murdoch could open his syringe up to the market. Healthcare professionals began praising how cost effective the solution was. “If all G.P.s and all hospitals used them [syringes], the saving in man-hours would just about pay for them. I know I would not revert to anything else now, even though I cannot buy in bulk.”
It is difficult to imagine the impacts of Murdoch’s invention. Over 16 billion injections are given annually, and disposable syringes make up the majority of those injections. Without Murdoch’s invention, there would have been mass cases of cross-infection due to reuse of glass syringes. Best said by Murdoch himself, “It is impossible to comprehend the catastrophic consequences of this situation if such practices [using glass syringes] were still occurring today”. Despite the impact of his invention, Murdoch did become significantly wealthy from it. Many international companies began copying Murdoch’s ideas and exploited the fact that he only owned patents in Australasia. Murdoch was informed of this but lacked the financial ability to sue, leading to corporations profiting off his design. Murdoch stated in a 1995 Timaru Herald article, “Patents give you the right to sue, they don’t give you the money to sue. It just costs too much”.
Murdoch in his later years continued to invent. In the following years of his first patent, he produced several iterations of his disposable syringe design. Murdoch is well known for inventing the tranquiliser gun and has created many different inventions for various industries. For example, he created: Child-proof containers for healthcare, velocity control guns for hunting and silent burglar and fire alarms for security. Before his death by cancer in 2008, he held 46 patents. Truly an inventive New Zealander.
