Aldrei fleiri sprautur

HP and Crospon have developed a skin patch which uses microneedles that barely penetrate the skin. The microneedles can replace conventional injections and deliver drugs through the skin without causing any pain. The skin patch technology also enables delivery of several drugs by one patch and the control of dosage and of administration time for each drug. It has the potential to be safer and more efficient than injections.

 The epidermis, which is the outer skin layer, prevents invasion of bacteria and viruses into the body. Conventional needles penetrate far beyond the epidermis, which is a fraction of a millimeter thick, into the nerve-packed dermis layer, causing us pain. Because the maximum penetration of the skin patch's microneedles is 0.5mm, they do not stimulate the pain receptors that are located about 0.75mm under the skin's surface.

One patch contains about 150 microneedles and enables the drug's dose and time of delivering to be controlled by a microchip. The patch also contains 400 cylindrical reservoirs that can be filled with the necessary drugs, and is therefore capable of carrying more several drugs at the same time. This product may be particularly helpful for patients who are on a multi-drug regimen and have trouble remembering when they should take each drug.

The drug delivery skin patch may be available to consumers by year 2010.