Hypodermic needle destruction

1. An apparatus for processing a hypodermic needle, comprising:

a containment cylinder for receiving the needle;

a first electrode for contacting the needle near a first end;

a second electrode, arranged as a piston, movable within the containment cylinder, for contacting the needle at its sharp end; and

a control system, operable to cause a current to flow in the needle between said first and second electrodes, whereby said current causes the needle to soften and wherein the second electrode is arranged to move within the containment cylinder and to provide a compressive force to the needle.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the containment cylinder is arranged such that as the second electrode provides the compressive force, the mass of the needle is contained within the cylinder.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the control system causes a current to flow in the needle by applying a voltage directly to the needle or by inducing a current in the needle.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the second electrode comprises a piston.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the piston comprises an indentation in which, in use, rests the sharp tip of the needle.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising locking means to grip the needle at a hub and secure it in place for subsequent processing.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the locking means comprises a pair of slidable clamps mounted on a common shaft, each clamp being driven by a relatively opposite-threaded screw thread.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising a pair of guide blocks, each forming one half of a conical channel such that when the guide blocks are mated together, the conical channel is operable to guide the needle.

9. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the compressive force is provided by one of a stepper motor, a solenoid, a spring, or manual force.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein means are provided to select one of a plurality of operational programs.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the means for selecting one of a plurality of operational programs comprises means for determining at least one of a set of physical properties of possible needles.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the set of physical properties includes one or more of: length, thickness and electrical resistance.

13. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the voltage is applied or the current is induced intermittently.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein in the case where voltage is applied directly to the needle, a first relatively smaller current is applied in order to deform the tip of the needle to create a larger contact area.

15. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising means for removing residue from the apparatus.