Another breakthrough from the Scientific American:
Microchip Implant Gives Medication On Command
A tiny chip implanted under the skin can dole out dozens of doses of osteoporosis medication right on schedule
By Katherine Harmon | February 16, 2012 | 2
CHIPPING AWAY AT DRUG DELIVERY: With a tiny implanted chip, filled with individual doses of medication, a patient might soon be able to forget all about daily shots–and perhaps even pills.
For people who face frequent needle jabs to treat chronic conditions, a new technology is on the horizon that might make treatment a lot less painful.
Researchers report that a new wireless controlled microchip, implanted under the skin, can safely and reliably give osteoporosis patients the daily dose of a drug that they need for at least 20 days in a row. The findings were presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in Vancouver and published online Thursday in Science Translational Medicine.
Some 55,000 people in the U.S. with osteoporosis face daily injections of a bone-boosting hormone (known as human parathyroid hormone fragment, which is the basis for the drug teriparatide, sold as Forteo). But during a two-year daily regimen of the shots, close to three quarters of osteoporosis patients fail to take the drug as often as they are supposed to. High noncompliance makes this condition an especially compelling target for an automatic drug-dosing system.
Microchips like these could also be used for other conditions that demand discrete drug dosing, such as multiple sclerosis, for which some patients must inject a dose of interferon once every two days. Therapies that use hormones are particularly appealing for adaptation to microchip delivery because the body usually releases hormones intermittently—just as the chip does, Farra says. In the future, a device like this might also be able to help diabetics both monitor and treat their condition.
Remote controlled
The device can be pre-programmed or controlled wirelessly via the Medical Implant Communication Services (MICS) band, set aside for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by the Federal Communications Commission. And the device can also report back dose-delivery data to a computer-based system.
Scientists demonstrated that this sort of wirelessly controlled drug delivery might be possible in 1999. Some major technological hurdles needed to be cleared in the interim, Farra says. (End of excerpt from the Scientific American)
The article is fascinating as well as a good read.
While the article discusses some technical challenges; it doesn’t spend any appreciable time discussing what could go wrong since it all depends on wireless technology. Some discussion regarding spectrum used and how the device would be shielded from other devices would be really helpful and perhaps reassuring. Could passing by a wireless terminal in a shop give me a shot? Then there is the question about having something wireless controlling goings on in your body. Perhaps people using pacemakers or similar devices could provide views on that.
I think I will wait until results from all of the trials are in.
Passing Through . . . . 