HP's Inkjet Technology Used to Administer Drugs

jedrick conner writes "Hewlett-Packard's microneedle technology, used in its inkjet cartridges, could soon be used in transdermal patches to deliver a time-controlled release of drugs to patients. Still at the prototype stage, the patch will likely be 25 mm square in size and 3 mm thick. It will incorporate an array of microneedles that are between 75 and 100 microns, which will penetrate the top dry layer of the skin, also known as the stratum corneum. Above the microneedles is an array of wells, [and] those wells can hold one or more drugs, the device has "an active mechanism to push the drug through the needle"."

Can't wait

[Anonymous Coward]

Can't wait till we see the black-market "refill kits" for these.

It's... getting... sooohoho... coooold.

Toner Refills

[sweatyboatman]

The printer comes free with your doctor's prescription. But it only comes with enough ink for one patch and refills are $1000.

Damn! Out of Yellow!

[kbob88]

I was doing fine until my anti-psychotic medicine ran out of yellow!

Re:Toner Refills

[kbob88]

That's OK. There's a guy down the street who refills the patches for cheap, using no-name brands from China. What could go wrong? A little lead paint mixed in with the drug won't hurt will it? It's only my health, right?

Drugs will be cheaper than ink...

[topham]

The drugs will be cheaper than ink, therefor there isn't enough of a market in it for HP.

Obligatory ST:TOS reference

[MobyDisk]

Damn it Jim! I'm a doctor, not a printer!

Yet More SPAM

[Crypto Gnome]

You heard it first folks - soon you will be bombarded with SPAM for

CH3@P R3F!LLS for your TR@NSD3RM@L P@TCH3S


Yet when you buy the product

• they leak
• they clog
• the "fluid" in the 3rd-party refills simply don't produce the same results as quality/original manufacturer refills

It's just like what we have now

[User 956]

and refills are $1000.

so it's very similar to a regular inkjet printer then, isn't it?

Re:Prior art

[Ossifer]

I assume you mean to rotate around the axis on the astral plane...

Blue screen

[flyingfsck]

Hmm, this puts the Blue Screen of Death in a whole new light.

Re:It's just like what we have now

[davester666]

and refills are $1000.

so it's very similar to a regular inkjet printer then, isn't it?

Only these refills are a lot cheaper than regular inkjet refills.

Re:Damn! Out of Yellow!

[Anonymous Coward]

I was doing fine until my anti-psychotic medicine ran out of yellow!

You're lucky. My anti-depressant patch is out of everything except blue.

Transdermal drugs...

[JRHelgeson]

I think my wife is on Microsoft Birth Control, because every week she has to apply a new patch.

Sweet

[Legion303]

I'm betting the drugs cost way less than the ink. Any takers?

Ouch!

[akkarin]

ERROR!
Please correct
skin jam, then
press enter.