What once seemed like a dream is now a reality fast approaching the field of medicine. The prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) recently developed a computer-aided 3D printing technology that is now introducing us to hitherto unexplored possibilities in customized medicines.
While the institute has patented 3D printing technology for applications in various fields, Aprecia Pharmaceuticals has the exclusive rights to the technology for pharmaceutical use. The company successfully developed the world’s first 3D-printed drug last year. Spritam is a drug for treating seizures in epileptic patients and was printed by sandwiching a powdered form of the drug between liquids and then bonding them.
The technology has enabled the production of highly porous, high-dose pills that dissipate rapidly, thus granting doctors control over dosage strengths. To control the strength and the time it takes for a dose to react, only the surface area is changed in the printing process, making administered 3D-printed dosages completely safe.
Source: Raveby
The major factor here would be the availability of pharmaceutical compounds in powdered form and patients would no longer have to rely on cumbersome capsules and tablets, being able to choose medicines that are a lot easier to consume. This customizability is particularly useful in the case of patients that find swallowing pills difficult, such as the physically impaired.
According to some speculators, 3D printing could become so prevalent that patients would be able to print their own drugs! In theory at least, 3D printing would enable them to choose amongst sizes, shapes and dosage on their own. All that patients would require would be a set of instructions for the printer to follow and they’d be able to synthesize formulations independently.
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