Printing Custom Medications

Prescription medication dosages are, even in the best conditions, often approximations. While pills often come in a set dosage, different factors (like a patient’s weight or specific metabolism) can affect their response. Researchers at Louisiana State University are developing a 3D printing solution that could help improve the process.

The researchers have developed a way to make personalized bioactive stents, catheters and filaments, which would allow them to deliver highly precise, targeted treatments for radiology. They used resorbable bioplastics to print the items, which contain chemotherapeutic agents and antibiotics.

The research was presented at the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) 2015 Annual Scientific Meeting.

“3D printing allows for tailor-made materials for personalized medicine,” said Horacio R. D’Agostino, M.D., FSIR, lead researcher and an interventional radiologist at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center (LSUH) in Shreveport. “It gives us the ability to construct devices that meet patients’ needs, from their unique anatomy to specific medicine requirements. And as tools in interventional radiology, these devices are part of treatment options that are less invasive than traditional surgery.”

Tests of antibiotic-containing catheters that could slowly release the drug showed that the devices inhibited bacterial growth. Researchers also saw that filaments carrying chemotherapeutic agents were able to inhibit the growth of cancer cells. According to D’Agostino:

“We treat a wide variety of patients and, with some patients, the current one-size-fits-all devices are not an option. 3D printing gives us the ability to craft devices that are better suited for certain patient populations that are traditionally tough to treat, such as children and the obese, who have different anatomy. There’s limitless potential to be explored with this technology.”

Researchers at the University of Central Lancashire have done similar work on 3D printed tablets to deliver medications. A team at Louisiana Tech University also developed a biodegradable material and printing solution for a similar application.

3D printing is set to create even more innovation in the healthcare space, according to research firm SmarTech. The company has produced a 10-year forecast for 3D printing in healthcare, and Senior Analyst Scott Dunham writes that the technology is poised to revolutionize several facets of the way medicine is delivered.

“[T]here is an unusually strong synergy among digital 3D design, medical imaging and 3D printing for medical applications,” he wrote in a column at LiveScience. “The three form a trifecta of medical problem-solving power, where physicians can use patient-specific data to capture, manipulate and ultimately apply physical solutions of all shapes and sizes through 3D printing.”

Source: EurekAlert!