HP replaces needles with patch

THE DAYS of a doctor giving you an injection with a needle the size of a telegraph pole could be a thing of the past.

The maker of expensive printer ink, HP has come up with a skin patch that uses microneedles that just penetrate the skin.

The patches can replace conventional injections and deliver drugs through the skin without causing any pain.

It can also deliver several drugs at the same time and the control of dosage time for each drug.

A picture of the prototype skin patch makes it look like a computer chip which is why the hardware outfit was interested in the project.

Apparently it is similar to the technology used in HP’s patented process for its inkjet cartridges.

One patch has 150 microneedles and 400 cylindrical reservoirs that can be filled with the necessary drugs. The operation is controlled by microchip.

If HP continues its usual business model, it will probably offer the patch for a small cost but hype the cost of the medication.

More here. µ