A new review published in WIREs Nanomedicine and Nanobiotechnology explores how nanotechnology may provide powerful new tools that could have a marked impact on the therapeutic and diagnostic measures available to surgeons.
Nanotechnology uses very…
Troy, N.Y. — A few unassuming drops of liquid locked in a very precise game of “follow the leader” could one day be found in mobile phone cameras, medical imaging equipment, implantable drug delivery devices, and even implantable eye lenses.
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MiniMed has made its fortune with an insulin pump that diabetics wear around their waist and that automatically delivers controlled doses of the sugar-regulating substance to the wearer’s bloodstream. It’s a terrific product because it eliminates the need for regular syringe-based injections (though a catheter remains stuck in the patient’s belly all day long.) Combined with the company’s glucose monitor, the product works like a sort of artificial pancreas. As cool as the system is, it still involves a needle breaking skin, which can on occasion lead to infections, not to mention being a real pain. Engineers at Penn State say they’re on the road to a needle-free insulin delivery method that uses a small, ultrasonic patch to get the drug into the wearer’s blood.