A new discovery could revolutionize the way childhood vaccines are administered, as engineers at MIT have invented a way for multiple doses of a vaccine or drug to be given over an extended period of time with only one injection.

The process involves the invention of a "new 3-D fabrication method that can generate a novel type of drug-carrying particle that could allow multiple doses of a drug or vaccine to be delivered over an extended period of time," according to MIT News.

This novel fabrication technique, called SEAL (Stamped Assembly of Polymer Layers), creates three-dimensional microparticles that resemble tiny coffee cups that can be filled with vaccines or drugs, which are sealed with a lid.