In vivo implants
The use of microsystems – miniature devices that can
operate in vivo to deliver truly targeted therapy – is still
to a great extent just a concept. In vivo implants providing
controlled drug delivery are, of course, not new. But how
much better and more effective they would be if they could
be smaller and also controllable, delivering the exact dose
at the precise location needed. And how much better it would
be if catheters, say, could be controlled at the point of
treatment, rather than being manipulated from outside the
body under X-ray control. Yet many of the technologies
needed to realize these groundbreaking developments already
exist within Philips Applied Technologies.
Biocompatible miniature devices
 Recognizing
this, Philips Applied Technologies is drawing on the
extensive know-how of its microsystems group with expertise
in microactuators, microfluidics, and microelectronics and
miniature power sources, to explore new possibilities.
Currently we are concentrating on the development of
biocompatible miniature devices that can be used for
therapy, or the measurement of hanges in body parameters.
Although still in an early stage, these examples form
part of a whole range of new developments in medical
microsystems that re likely to revolutionize healthcare in
the coming years.
|
news loading