EU researchers develop tooth drug delivery device
European Union researchers have developed a prosthetic tooth designed to release controlled doses of medication at regular intervals.
European Union researchers have developed a prosthetic tooth designed to release controlled doses of medication at regular intervals.
A result of the Euro 2m EU-grant funded project IntelliDrug, the prosthetic is the size of two molars, and contains a reservoir and release mechanism, a programmable circuit, micro-sensors, micro-actuators and batteries.
It can be controlled by infrared signal, allowing doctors, nurses and patients to adjust its settings; in ongoing work, IntelliDrug researchers want to replace these signals with radio frequency identification (RFID) and then GSM telephony. Batteries should last three months and the reservoir would be refilled from every week to every month, depending on drug and dosage.
The European Commission has welcomed the invention saying: "Studies indicate that 50% of patients do not take their medicine because they either forget or do not consider it necessary ..[and].. patients take drugs at the wrong time or take the wrong dose."