Insulin and Other Drugs by Sound waves.

 Medications such as those used to fight AIDS, asthma drugs, insulin and other hormones and pain relievers could all be delivered by sound wave someday soon due to a device called a "sonicator." A huge two pound version with an  eight inch probe is already in existence but folks at Penn State are trying to shrink it down to a matchbook sized patch that people can wear.

      Tests show it can deliver enough insulin through the skin to be useful. Sound waves just above what a human can hear push the insulin through the skin and into blood vessels. So far it takes 20 minutes to do this, but they are trying to get the time down to five.

        The device consists of a slim disk of piezoelectric ceramic material placed between two titanium end caps that are shaped like cymbals. They are noisy as cymbals too, though their sound is too high pitched for us humans to hear. The sound pushes insulin and other drugs right through the skin into blood vessels. I wonder what effect this device would have on family pets who can hear higher pitched sounds than humans can? 

     Dr. Nadine Barrie Smith, who is one of the scientists who worked on the device, can be reached at nbs@engr.psu.edu or at 814 865-8087. But remember, until the FDA approves it, it cannot be used on Humans.

     The name of the device is Transducer Design for a Portable Ultrasound Enhanced Transdermal Drug Delivery System. It can be called the Penn State Ultrasound patch for short.