Release date: 2015-11-13
Speaking of "cool" e-health people will first think of the growing popularity of wearable health products, such as "iWatch." Or traditional biomedical engineering techniques, such as artificial organs, biomedical signal processing, medical imaging, etc. These modern medical technologies have played a huge role in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of human diseases, and have changed the trajectory of human life. But today I want to introduce some "cool" electronic medical inventions that sparked sparks from medicine and microelectronics.
Novartis, Google's "Wisdom" contact lenses:
The “cool electronic medical care†that has earned eyeballs in the past year or two is the “wisdom†and “diabetes†contact lenses developed by Novartis and Google. The former is equipped with an autofocus sensing circuit (pictured) between the double-layer contact lenses. For example, the lens automatically focuses on the book when reading, and can quickly focus on distant objects when looking at it. The focus time can be as fast as 1 millisecond. The latter is equipped with a sensor for detecting blood sugar levels in the mezzanine, which can instantly detect the blood sugar level of diabetic patients. Diagnosing blood sugar for the “sickle†diabetic patients brings the gospel. It is said that these two contact lenses are expected to enter human clinical trials in 2016 and are priced at approximately $4,500 per year.
The microelectronics technology of "Wisdom Glasses" comes from the mysterious Google X Lab. Google X Labs embeds a photodiode as a sensor between double-layer contact lenses. These photodiodes can be adjusted according to the angle of the eyelid opening and closing to control the amount of light entering and moving up and down, and then the signal is transmitted to the liquid crystal to adjust the relative position between the lenses to focus. Alcon's eye company, Alcon, is the world's most experienced ophthalmology company responsible for the clinical development of this "smart glasses." This technology not only relieves the presbyopia of myopia, but also applies to other eye diseases such as cataracts.
In addition to the "smart" contact lenses for myopia/presbyopia, Novartis and Google have jointly developed a "diabetes contact lens" for people with diabetes. Like the "smart glasses", the designer has a micro sensor embedded in the double-layer lens, but this is not for focusing, but to detect the glucose concentration in the patient's eye fluid and to transmit it to the user's wearing electronics through radio signals. Doctors can use this to more accurately manage the patient's diet and medication. The prototype of this product was developed in 2008 by Barack Pavez, associate professor of electrical engineering at the University of Washington. He designed a glucose sensor that uses electrodes to allow microcurrent to flow through the eye fluid and measure the current to detect the concentration of glucose in the eye fluid, while the glucose concentration in the eye fluid directly reflects the glucose concentration in the blood. Together with the computer chip of the radio frequency modulation antenna, these electrodes are built on a flat substrate made of polyester synthetic fiber, which Pavitz then molds into a contact lens. Later, the design was acquired and further refined by the mysterious Google X Lab.
Although Novartis CEO Joe Jimenez recently spoke in an interview with Fox TV in the United States, he vowed to introduce the prospects of these two smart glasses, and said that he will enter the clinical trial phase in 2016. However, many people in the industry especially have doubts about the feasibility of "diabetes" contact lenses: (1) Diabetes contact lenses measure the glucose level of eye drops, but the glucose content and blood sugar level of eye drops (tears) Relevance has not been confirmed. (2) According to the current glucose testing methods (biological, chemical, mass spectrometry, physical methods), it is almost unrealistic to accurately check the concentration of trace glucose in the eye fluid, not to mention the instruments/circuits/batteries. It is so small that it can be placed between two contact lenses without affecting vision. (C), Google recently signed a cooperation plan with Dexcom, the world's leading manufacturer of blood glucose meters, to create a "coin-sized" blood glucose meter. Among them, Dexcom is responsible for sensor development, and Google is responsible for miniaturization and data processing. This collaboration suggests from one side that sensor development for diabetic contact lenses is not going well, so it has to acquire Dexcom's technology. Of course, there is money and willfulness. Maybe Google will use this newly developed blood glucose sensor for the development of contact lenses.
Diabetes is a serious chronic disease that is not only numerous (one in every 19 people with diabetes), but once the glycemic index is out of control, patients will face many complications including eye, kidney, and heart damage. If diabetic contact lenses are available on time and instantly and accurately monitor the patient's glycemic index (read once per second), it is clearly a revolutionary product for diabetics. I sincerely hope that Google X Labs will launch a "cool" electronic medical product that is as reliable as Google's driverless car.
Instant 3D printing pills?
3D printing technology is becoming more and more popular, from airplane cannons to human organs, which sounds like "all-powerful." Applied to the pharmaceutical industry, some people predict that in the future, they can replace the pharmacy to print "individualized tablets". They imagine that the future doctor's prescription is a binary "barcode" that is swept away with an increasingly popular self-service 3D printer and then gets the right medication. This statement sounds as if it seems "reasonable" but apparently distorted the 3D printing tablet technology.
In fact, in August this year, the US FDA approved the first SPRITAM® tablet (left cilthatin fast-dissolving tablet) prepared by 3D printing technology for the treatment of partial seizures and muscles in adults or children with other anti-epileptic drugs. Clonic seizures, as well as primary generalized seizures. Of course, Aprecia Pharmaceuticals' levetiracetan instant tablets are essentially different from the above "individualized" 3D printed tablets. SPRITAM® is actually a formulation production technology that uses 3D printing technology to make the interior of the new formulation multi-empty because the internal surface area is high and can be melted by a small amount of water in a short time. Such characteristics have brought good news to some patients with swallowing disorders. More than 3 million people in the United States suffer from active epilepsy each year, and more than 14% of them are children. A considerable number of patients often have a certain degree of swallowing disorders, often taking vomiting, card medicine and other conditions affecting the efficacy of the drug, and some children have fear and rejection of oral pills, do not want to take the drug on time. SPRITAM® prepared by 3D printing technology is beneficial for drug compliance in these patients.
In addition, the loading of each SPRITAM® is significantly higher than that of traditional formulations. Especially for some patients who need to take large doses of drugs at once, this "fast-dissolving tablet" can greatly alleviate the pain of taking these drugs. Of course, the 3D printed excipients and active ingredients are also drugs.
MIT Microneedle Capsule
Many drugs, such as most biological agents, are not orally administered. These drugs are either not absorbed or taken down by the digestive system before they enter the bloodstream. Many people are afraid of injections, so if you can make the injection into oral pills, it will be a huge market. Because of this, many design concepts have emerged in recent years. The most striking thing may be the “micro-needle capsule†designed by a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
A 28-year-old student from Carl Schoellhammer of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Department of Chemical Engineering invented a "Microneedle Pill" (mPill) under the direction of Professor Robert Langer, the world's number one inventor. As shown above, mPill is a "capsule" that is covered with small needles, but these needles are wrapped in a pH-sensitive substance. The external pH reaction layer not only covers the needle but also makes swallowing easier. Put a proper amount of medicine into this needle-filled stainless steel capsule. Once the patient swallows it, after reaching the intestine, the protective layer on the surface will dissolve due to the change of pH, and the needle will penetrate the surrounding intestinal wall. Inject the drug into the blood. Because the inner wall of the intestine lacks painful nerves, this capsule is much less painful than traditional injections.
Although the above-mentioned microneedle capsules are full of steel needles, it is terrible, but the X-ray tracking of pigs and other animal experiments shows that the microneedle capsules are actually safe, and the capsules filled with steel needles can be smoothly discharged. Moreover, animal experiments have shown that the effect of a "steel needle capsule" that infuses insulin is equivalent to or better than the traditional subcutaneous injection (click to view the video effect).
In order to avoid accidental inability to excrete individual "microneedle capsules", Schoellhammer has also developed another version of the capsule, a solid needle made from sugar mixed with drugs. The effect is the same. The needle penetrates into the surface of the digestive tract and directly delivers the drug to the blood. However, the needle itself will dissolve at this time, and only the capsule without the needle will be left. Rani Therapeutics' California "Sugar Needle Capsule" is designed in the same way, but uses a degradable "sugar needle" and is activated by an acidification reaction. Compared with the "microneedle capsule", the former has the advantage of accuracy/reproducibility but needs to pass through the intestinal tract smoothly, while the latter has the advantage of biodegradation but the activation accuracy (higher and more precise requirements for the device), workability Something is not good. How to accurately control the "sugar needle capsule" in the duodenum / colon to start "microneedle" is a technical test.
If 70% of the cars will be electric cars in 20 years, and the traditional cars will gradually withdraw from the historical stage, then in the 20 years, the pharmaceutical industry will enter the electronic and digital era in addition to more disruptive new drugs. I believe that the above-mentioned inventions that are not ideal for traditional medicine through electronic and digitalization will be more and more, and the collision between Novartis and Google is only the beginning of a new medical revolution.
Source: US and Chinese medicine source
Human adenovirus has 51 serotypes, 6 subgroups A-F, and the genome is a linear double-stranded DNA molecule. Groups B, C, and E are associated with respiratory infections; groups A and F are associated with gastrointestinal infections, groups D and E are associated with eye infection; and groups D and E are associated with kidney and urinary tract infections. Adenovirus is acid-resistant, so it can continue to remain active through the gastrointestinal tract.
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