03/01/2016
How 3D printed pills are personalizing medicine?
There is no doubt that when it comes to the medical industry, 3D printing technology is having a revolutionary, life- and cost-saving impact. From 3D printed custom prosthetics, to 3D printed surgical implants, to 3D bioprinted tissue, the technology is giving both doctors and patients an unprecedented understanding of the human body, and the unbelievable capability to repair, alter, and improve it. One of the more rapidly-developing areas of medical 3D printing is customizable 3D printed pills, which are already in development and could very well change how we treat serious and common medical conditions, from epilepsy to chronic pain, on a patient-specific basis, making medications customizable and therefore cheaper, more accurate, and more effective than ever before.
So far, researchers have been able to 3D print custom shapes for powder-based and even liquid medicine tablets in order to make them more appealing and easier to swallow for children. New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company Aprecia also made headlines this year when it became the first company to receive FDA approval for a 3D printed prescription drug with incredibly rapid-dissipation properties, designed to treat seizures in epileptic patients.
The most recent study in favor of 3D printed pills comes from North Carolina’s Wake Forest University, where researchers developed a computer algorithm to design and calculate dosages according to patients’ biological and clinical parameters instead of using pre-determined dosages. The algorithm could then generate 3D printable files, resulting in 3D printed pills that proved to be highly accurate, increasing effectiveness while reducing unwanted side effects.