July 9, 2014. Copyright 2014, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Wireless drug implant makes treatment easy

LONDON, July 9, Graphic News: Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a programmable medical drug delivery implant which can dispense a whole range of medications to treat diseases such as diabetes, osteoporosis, heart disease, and cancer. 

The device measures 20x20x7 millimetres, and is designed to be implanted under the skin of the upper arm, abdomen, or buttocks. One of the first commercial applications will be as a contraceptive, delivering 30 micrograms a day of the hormone levonorgestrel, which is already used in a number of female birth control methods.

Contained within the device are micro-reservoirs sealed by an ultra-thin titanium and platinum layer that temporarily melts when a small electric current is applied, releasing the hormone into a woman's body.

To activate the drug dispenser you simply press a button on a wireless remote control -- and press it again to turn it off. "Communication with the implant has to occur at skin contact level distance -- someone across the room cannot reprogramme your implant", explained the chip's co-creator Dr. Robert Farra, president of MicroCHIPS of Lexington, Massachusetts.

Currently, an earlier version of a MicroCHIPS programmable implant is being used in a clinical trial to treat seven Danish women with osteoporosis. The implant delivers daily doses of the drug teriparatide, which stimulates bone formation.

A key concern is that the body tends to encapsulate implants in a protective layer of fibrous cells which can restrict the drug entering the bloodstream effectively. But in the Danish trials, absorption and distribution evaluations suggest that the drug had no problem diffusing through this layer and into the blood vessels, says Farra.

Researchers showed that over the course of one month, the implant was able to deliver up to 20 doses with the same levels of safety and therapeutic benefits as regular injections.

The new contraceptive device will begin pre-clinical testing in the U.S. next year. The goal is to have it on the market by 2018.
/ENDS