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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."

18 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. Re:Perfected wireless control? by Black+Parrot · · Score: 2

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

      No, the hack is going to give us Pusher on a Chip.

      --
      Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
    3. Re:Perfected wireless control? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      Wow ! Hacking humans to get a network of zombie !

  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.

    2. Re:I'm terrified. by martin-boundary · · Score: 2

      And that's also ignoring the fundamental inefficiency of having a great many drugs on each chip, which will never be used. If there's 100 drugs on a chip, and only 10 drugs get dispensed by one chip, then that's wasting 90% of globally available drug reserves.

    3. Re:I'm terrified. by Trecares · · Score: 2

      That depends on the bioavailability of the drug in question.

      See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioavailability

      Most of the drugs you get are mostly filler / carrier mediums. Internally, you can just have the pure drug itself, reducing the required dosage.

      What I don't see is a easy way to package multiple drugs on a single implant without custom making each implant which I think is cost prohibitive. Standardized cocktails would be a different story.

      I'm surprised they didn't go with some sort of tiny metering system such as with a plunger and miniature stepper motor. That way it could be refillable (syringe) without having to cut the patient open every so often to replace the unit.

    4. Re:I'm terrified. by hackertourist · · Score: 4, Informative

      I know that the 'slippery slope' argument is a Slashdot staple, but really?

      Automated drug regimens would be a boon to many people who now for one reason or another forget/skip/whatever. Psychosis, dementia, Alzheimer, ADD, brain damage, the list is long and distinguished.

      Having been around a few people who tend to forget their medication, this would be a substantial improvement in their quality of life and that of the people around them.

  3. Uh oh! by JoeCommodore · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I bet the robot insurance premiums will go up as, as robots would next be ripping old folks limbs off to get at their prescription drugs.

    --
    "Enjoy what you're doing! If it becomes drudgery, you're doing it wrong!" - Jim Butterfield
    1. Re:Uh oh! by EdIII · · Score: 2

      I think whatever meds you are on you need to adjust the dosage. This would be perfect for you :)

  4. 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.

  5. how to cure diabetes by decora · · Score: 2

    1. spend more money on sidewalks, crosswalks, walking + bicycle paths, and safe intersections

    2. spend less money subsidizing the corn, sugar, and 'value added' goods industries based off of those two carbohydrates

    3. pay doctors to stop people from getting diabetes in the first place, instead of paying them to diagnose and treat it.

    i realize diabetes is often genetic. but often its lifestyle based. and that lifestyle is not the result of 'free choice', its the result of urban planners and social engineers who believe in profit over everything else.

    1. Re:how to cure diabetes by Gaygirlie · · Score: 4, Interesting

      2. spend less money subsidizing the corn, sugar, and 'value added' goods industries based off of those two carbohydrates

      Here in Finland they've already raised prices on sugary products, like e.g. chocolate and other candy. Haven't had any effect though, people are just spending more money now while still eating the same amount of it. Doesn't work.

      3. pay doctors to stop people from getting diabetes in the first place, instead of paying them to diagnose and treat it.

      A lot easier said than done.

    2. Re:how to cure diabetes by gQuigs · · Score: 2

      In the states you can find (high fructose) corn syrup in hundreds of products it normally would never be in.

      Learn more at http://endcornsubsidy.wordpress.com/
      Sign a petition at http://wh.gov/K1t

  6. Drugs Delivered by chip? by ajlisows · · Score: 2

    The self destructive side of me has finally had his prayers answered! Now to find a hack to cut off the portion control....

  7. Solves many problems by tomhath · · Score: 2

    I was once told that even with medication in pill form, roughly 1/3 of prescriptions are never filled and another 1/3 are filled but the patient never takes them.

    As the article states, getting a patient to take drugs which require daily (or multiple times per day) injections is very difficult. For obvious reasons people just don't want to stick themselves with needles, elderly patients forget, some drugs need to be given so frequently the patient has to be wakened every couple of hours, etc.

  8. already deadly "hacks" by terracomm · · Score: 2

    ...called doctors and pharmacists. this couldn't be any worse.