Boffins claim invention of rechargable, biodegradable, supercapacitor drug pump

Scientists say they've developed an implantable drug-delivery widget that harmlessly dissolves over time in the body, can be wirelessly charged, and has proven its efficacy in lab rats. The academics, at Lanzhou and Dalian Universities in China and Penn State in the US, said their gadget is powered by a supercapacitor with a …

[HuBo]

Very impressive! I wonder if adding a tiny Cortex-M0 to sense the local environment and modulate drug delivery accordingly (via PWM) could be useful within this context, something like the 0.4mm chip from the University of Michigan (2018): https://news.umich.edu/u-m-researchers-create-worlds-smallest-computer/

[Filippo]

Adding any kind of processor would greatly expand the ability to modulate drug delivery. However, it would also defeat the purpose of having a fully biodegradable implant.

[jmch]

Implant where??

The photo and scale imply a flat sheet of approx 3X3 cm, that is requiring around 4cm incision at least to implant under the skin and rather larger surgery to implant anywhere else. Seems like a very invasive procedure to undergo in order to save on having an infusor needle taped to your arm for 10 days. I can see how it could be useful if it can have useful working life of a couple of months.

A couple more things - anything going wrong with this device and the patient could well end up with 10+days worth of drugs in their bloodstream all at once, ie pretty high risk of overdose. Secondly "harmlessly dissolves over time in the body"... hmmmmm I think that 'harmlessly' is doing a lot of heavy lifting there. Our bodies are wonderful at cleaning up contaminants and repelling invaders, but even a healthy body has a limited capacity for detoxification and immune response. And by definition this device wouldn't be used on a healthy body.

So all things considered, very cool and interesting research but might still be of limited practical scope even with a lot of technical improvement.

[vtcodger]

Re: Implant where??

that is requiring around 4cm incision at least to implant under the skin and rather larger surgery to implant anywhere else.

large? ... invasive? Especially if you are a rat -- maybe 20cm long and weighing maybe 400g. I think that before moving on to humans, someone should interview the rats and see if maybe they would have preferred a different treatment. Or maybe just living with the yeast infection.

How do you interview a rat? AI of course. AI can do anything.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Implant where??

Looking at the pic. it could be spaced out a bit more, then folded into thirds both ways. Much smaller incision, but longer time to dissolve.

Also, where are the drugs in the picture?

[Dagg]

Re: Implant where??

Seems like a very invasive procedure to undergo in order to save on having an infusor needle taped to your arm for 10 days

You should not make this comment until you have actually undergone this treatment. Take it from me it is NOT nice especially if the site becomes infected (which it did for me) or if it blocks up (which it also did for me).

It means that you in effect lose the full use of the arm for that period. Just little problems like showering, changing clothes eating etc.

[Korev]

Re: Implant where??

> Seems like a very invasive procedure to undergo in order to save on having an infusor needle taped to your arm for 10 days.

On the other hand, having an implant like this could be very good for when you target a specific area of the body (think cell-killing drugs for a tumour)

[Exeterism]

Well, I guess that you wouldn’t have to take zinc supplements for a while as it dissolves.

[normal1]

Waiting to see this in my next cell phone....

Dissolving in ten to twelve days will be a technological breakthrough in phone marketing.....

/Samsung was close with the, "this phone will self destruct in 5 seconds" battery.

[John Brown (no body)]

Re: Waiting to see this in my next cell phone....

I suspect that may be an Impossible Mission.

[Zebo-the-Fat]

Hmmm...

You spelled sulphide wrong!

[Ian Johnston]

Re: Hmmm...

"Sulfur" has been the IUPAC spelling for at least 33 years and the QCA has insisted on "sulfur" for GCSEs and A levels for at least 14 years. Get with the project, Grandad.

[Doctor Syntax]

OK, the battery dissolves. What about the charging coil, the delivery mechanism and the wiring between battery and mechanism?

[Ian Johnston]

Presumably that's why these things are made of magnesium.

[Dagg]

magnesium

Interesting, this could cause some issues as there are many drugs that have some bad interactions with Mg especially some heart meds.

[ArguablyShrugs]

The RDA for Mg is around 400 mg, that's what you might normally consume in common foods. The Mg coil and wiring in this device dissolves over *15 days*. Sure, oral RDA is different from when it dissolves and is taken up by nearby tissues and into the blood, but as a WAG, probably not so much, and its absorption is probably *much* slower than a Mg pill. The whole Mg coil and wiring is what, probably well under a gram? I'd make a WAG again that it wouldn't be a real problem, except in some niche cases. Just ease up on cocoa and milk, or those 1,000mg Mg supplements some take for hangover (hence the beer icon), and it should be fine.