<p class="title">Scientists have developed a grape-sized, Bluetooth implant that can be remotely controlled to deliver scheduled doses of medication.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The research paves the way for people with chronic diseases like arthritis, diabetes and heart disease to one day forego the daily regimen of pills.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Researchers from Houston Methodist Hospital in the US successfully delivered continuous, predetermined dosages of medications using a nanochannel delivery system (nDS) that they remotely controlled using Bluetooth technology.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The nDS device provides controlled release of drugs without the use of pumps, valves or a power supply for possibly up to year without a refill for some patients. The research will be tested in space next year.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The study, published in the journal Lab on a Chip, shows that the implant can be used for long-term delivery of drugs for rheumatoid arthritis and high blood pressure.</p>.<p class="bodytext">These medications that are often administered at specific times of the day or at varying dosages based on patient needs, researchers said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We see this universal drug implant as part of the future of health care innovation," said Alessandro Grattoni, from Houston Methodist Research Institute.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Some chronic disease drugs have the greatest benefit of delivery during overnight hours when it's inconvenient for patients to take oral medication," Grattoni said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"This device could vastly improve their disease management and prevent them from missing doses, simply with a medical professional overseeing their treatment remotely," he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Researchers have worked on implantable nanochannel delivery systems to regulate the delivery of a variety of therapies for medical issues ranging from HIV-prevention to cancer.</p>.<p class="bodytext">As basic research progresses with the remote-controlled device, the Houston Methodist technology is planned for extreme remote communication testing on the International Space Station in 2020.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The team hopes that one day the system will be widely available to clinicians to treat patients remotely via telemedicine.</p>.<p class="bodytext">This could provide both an improvement in the patients' quality of life and a reduction of cost to the health care system.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The battery-powered implant contains a microchip that is Bluetooth enabled and relies on wireless communication.</p>.<p class="bodytext">To prove the technology worked as planned, the microchip was programmed for three different drug release settings -- standard decreased and increased.</p>.<p class="bodytext">With each setting, a specific voltage was applied to a silicon nanochannel within the implant to control drug release.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Current drug delivery devices, such as pain or insulin implants, rely on pumping mechanisms or external ports and typically need refills every couple of months.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The new device is implanted under the skin and uses a nanofluidic membrane made with similar technology used in the silicon semiconductor industry.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The drug dosage and schedule can be tailored to each patient, and the implant delivers the drugs for many months, even a year before refills are needed. </p>
<p class="title">Scientists have developed a grape-sized, Bluetooth implant that can be remotely controlled to deliver scheduled doses of medication.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The research paves the way for people with chronic diseases like arthritis, diabetes and heart disease to one day forego the daily regimen of pills.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Researchers from Houston Methodist Hospital in the US successfully delivered continuous, predetermined dosages of medications using a nanochannel delivery system (nDS) that they remotely controlled using Bluetooth technology.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The nDS device provides controlled release of drugs without the use of pumps, valves or a power supply for possibly up to year without a refill for some patients. The research will be tested in space next year.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The study, published in the journal Lab on a Chip, shows that the implant can be used for long-term delivery of drugs for rheumatoid arthritis and high blood pressure.</p>.<p class="bodytext">These medications that are often administered at specific times of the day or at varying dosages based on patient needs, researchers said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We see this universal drug implant as part of the future of health care innovation," said Alessandro Grattoni, from Houston Methodist Research Institute.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Some chronic disease drugs have the greatest benefit of delivery during overnight hours when it's inconvenient for patients to take oral medication," Grattoni said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"This device could vastly improve their disease management and prevent them from missing doses, simply with a medical professional overseeing their treatment remotely," he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Researchers have worked on implantable nanochannel delivery systems to regulate the delivery of a variety of therapies for medical issues ranging from HIV-prevention to cancer.</p>.<p class="bodytext">As basic research progresses with the remote-controlled device, the Houston Methodist technology is planned for extreme remote communication testing on the International Space Station in 2020.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The team hopes that one day the system will be widely available to clinicians to treat patients remotely via telemedicine.</p>.<p class="bodytext">This could provide both an improvement in the patients' quality of life and a reduction of cost to the health care system.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The battery-powered implant contains a microchip that is Bluetooth enabled and relies on wireless communication.</p>.<p class="bodytext">To prove the technology worked as planned, the microchip was programmed for three different drug release settings -- standard decreased and increased.</p>.<p class="bodytext">With each setting, a specific voltage was applied to a silicon nanochannel within the implant to control drug release.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Current drug delivery devices, such as pain or insulin implants, rely on pumping mechanisms or external ports and typically need refills every couple of months.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The new device is implanted under the skin and uses a nanofluidic membrane made with similar technology used in the silicon semiconductor industry.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The drug dosage and schedule can be tailored to each patient, and the implant delivers the drugs for many months, even a year before refills are needed. </p>