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Pharmacy On-a-chip Dispenses Drugs Automatically

Posted by samzenpus on from the time-for-your-medicine dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The idea is simple — load up a microchip with a whole pharmacy of drugs that are dispensed as needed automatically. The devil has been in the details, since mistakes could kill the patient if, say, a leak developed dumping dangerous cocktails into the bloodstream. This MIT sponsored company, however, claims to have perfected wireless control of a pharmacy-on-a-chip and has just completed the clinical trials to prove it. The test microchip has just 20 doses of a single drug, but their new prototype will house thousands of pin-prick sized drug reservoirs, after which they will seek FDA approval. The elderly (who have complicated drug regime) and soldiers could both benefit from these smart pharmacies-on-a-chip, since drugs can be dispensed even if the patient is unconscious."

5 of 74 comments (clear)

  1. Perfected wireless control? by __aaltlg1547 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Until somebody hacks it. Then one morning 100,000 elderly people don't wake up.

    1. Re:Perfected wireless control? by jcoy42 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      What
      Could
      Possibly
      Go
      Wrong.

      I ALMOST feel bad posting the obvious, but.. whatever.

      --
      Never trust an atom. They make up everything.
  2. I'm terrified. by eparker05 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    From TFA:
    "This avoids the compliance issue completely, and points to a future where you have fully automated drug regimens."

    I say this jokingly now, but first they will start using it on psychotic people who will not self administer. Then.... who knows.

    1. Re:I'm terrified. by demonlapin · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Of course, the practical limit here is just how much drug can be stored in one. Very few drugs work at even the microgram level. If you take three drugs at 20 mg/day each, that's over a gram in two and a half weeks. A three-month supply will need five grams of drugs - at which point you're talking about a pretty substantial implant.

  3. Culture drug glands by Dr_Banzai · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Reminds me of the drug glands in Iain M. Banks' Culture series. Any citizen can dose on one of 300 psychoactive substances just by thinking about it.