Cyberpunk Future in the Making
Anyone who’s read Neuromancer will recall the use of dermal patches for the administering of drugs. At the time it seemed like a far-flung vision of a technologically advanced future. No pills, no needles, just slap it on and go about your business.
HP and a company named Crospon are developing that very thing. A device that looks a bit like a CPU is covered in “microneedles” which are only .5mm long. The article has photos of the device as well as diagrams displaying how it is intended to work.
Current patches, such as the nicotine patch, rely on the fact that nicotine may be absorbed through the skin. Being able to get past the epidermal barrier for chemicals which aren’t readily absorbed could mean wonders for people whose medication regimen requires regular injections, or in some cases could prevent the need for pills. The developers intend to control dosage via microchip, which can protect patients from overdose and expands possibilities of time-release drugs as well.
While this can certainly revolutionize medicine, it also has the potential to revolutionize reacreational and dependency-based drug use also. Look ma, no track marks! This concern is years in the making, as scientists are still working to determine the safety and affordability of such a delivery method.
And now on a related note, for your listening pleasure:
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