New oral medicine delivery device
A European Union (EU)-funded research project IntelliDrug is developing an oral drug delivery device placed next to a patient's teeth, but allowing them to eat and speak without impediment.
A European Union (EU)-funded research project IntelliDrug is developing an oral drug delivery device placed next to a patient's teeth, but allowing them to eat and speak without impediment.
The kit even looks similar to natural teeth and would be installed in the dental arch, said a European Commission note. 'Medicine is released according to the patient's needs, for periods lasting days, weeks or months,' it said, noting the device includes a medication release mechanism, micro-sensors, and micro-actuators.
These allow a patient to adjust medicine taken by remote control, with drugs being absorbed by oral mucosa or swallowed. The control could also inform patients and doctors if the medicine container needs refilling, a process the Commission claimed would be 'simple and non-invasive'.
The device is expected to be on sale in 2007 and would be particularly useful for chronic disease sufferers and drug addicts. Researchers from Germany, Poland, Italy, Spain, Israel and Switzerland have been involved.
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