HP in the United States uses the principle of inkjet machine to invent painless injection patch

Release date: 2008-04-07

HP in the United States uses the principle of inkjet machine to invent painless injection patches Many people are afraid of injections. For diabetics, daily injection of insulin is a trouble. Not only do they have to remind themselves not to forget to take shots on time, but also to endure the pain of needles piercing the skin. The article published in the British "Daily Mail" on the 18th undoubtedly brings the gospel to such patients: Hewlett-Packard Company will apply the principle of Inkjet Printer to medicine and invent a painless injection patch.
Injection is no longer painful
HP was inspired by the invention of painless injection patches from ink cartridges on inkjet printers. The principle of painless injection patch is similar to that of inkjet printer cartridges. On a painless injection patch of approximately 6.5 square centimeters in area, there are 150 microneedles. There are also about 400 cylindrical reservoirs in the patch. Each accumulator is connected to a needle, and all the systems in the patch are controlled by a computer microchip to ensure that a personalized painless drug injection is provided according to the patient's needs.
Hewlett-Packard intends to sign a patent right transfer agreement with a medical device manufacturer named Crospon in Galway, Ireland, which pays the HP royalties and mass-produces painless injection patches. The patch is expected to be available to the European and US markets around 2010.
Croce's CEO, John O'Day, said that they also intend to sign an agreement with a pharmaceutical company to be responsible for the successful launch of the painless injection patch.
Timed quantitative injection
Another feature of the painless injection patch is that it provides a regular quantitative drug injection for the patient.
Joe Byers, vice president of intellectual property patents at HP, said: "The uniqueness of this patch is the design of the needle plus microchip - this will provide the possibility for artificial intelligence to control the needle."
The advantage of controlling the needle is that it can make the drug sensitive to time, thus achieving the effect of a timed quantitative injection. Painless injection patches are especially useful for patients with diabetes, heart disease, and hormonal disorders. They can also help patients who are receiving multiple medications to receive regular doses.
Painless injection patches are not the first attempt at skin patch technology. As early as a few years ago, nicotine patches to help smokers quit smoking were available. However, standard skin patch technology can only "selectively supply drugs" because some drugs cannot penetrate the skin, so they cannot penetrate into the blood. The micro-needle on the painless injection patch can directly reach the subcutaneous tissue, achieving the same drug delivery effect as a conventional syringe.
Market prospects
The market price of a painless injection patch is largely determined by the price of the drug contained therein. From a technical point of view, because the patch largely replicates the principle of the HP inkjet printer cartridge, the price is not high.
O'Day said: "Inkjet and spray - are not much different in nature."
Hewlett-Packard is not the first company to attempt to re-engineer existing patents to make a profit. In recent years, Palo Alto is also seeking channels to try to innovate and use existing technology and equipment to increase revenue for the company.
Hewlett-Packard is also unscrupulous in transferring patent rights. Byers said: "We encourage companies like Crospon to innovate the use of HP's intellectual property patents to make more people profit from major technologies. By applying the core technology of printers to drug injection products, HP feels The rapid development of the healthcare and life sciences markets, as well as the fresh air of mature technology."
Source: Pharmaceutical Economics