On 4/8/20, Ronald Escrader <rjescra...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hi All, > > FYI, > > 3D Printed Tablets with Braille Could Help Visually Impaired Patients > Improve in Taking Medication > > Researchers from the UK and Spain continue to study the potential to > use 3D printing to transform pharmaceuticals, outlining their studies > in the recently > published ‘3D Printed Tablets (Printlets) with Braille and Moon > Patterns for Visually Impaired Patients.’ > > 3D printed medication is an ongoing focus for scientists and > manufacturers today, eager to put all the benefits of progressive > technology to use. And while > the use of Braille with printlets is a novel idea, it fits in > perfectly with the idea of patient-specific treatment—meant to prevent > dosage errors and > encourage the visually impaired to keep up with their medication. > > “Previous studies revealed that one of the leading causes of > medication non-adherence was impaired vision, wherein approximately > 97% of patients with visual > impairment have difficulties reading medication labels, even in the > presence of optical aids, and around 24% have difficulties in > distinguishing medications,” > stated the researchers. “Moreover, patients with visual impairment are > twice more likely to need assistance with medicine management, wherein > one-third > of the patients will require continual support for medication > administration.” > > While Braille is ‘the universal tactile writing system,’ the Moon > system stems from Latin Roman letters produced using raised > shapes—much like the regular > alphabet in structure. The researchers decided to print these writing > systems directly onto the printlets. > > SLS 3D printing was used to fabricate the orally disintegrating > printlets (ODPs) with Braille and Moon patterns, allowing patients to > have fast knowledge > regarding medication. Paracetamol was used as the model drug. > > “Moreover, as these printlets are designed to disintegrate rapidly in > the mouth, they do not require the co-administration of water,” said > the researchers. > “As such, this encourages self-administration of medicines, improving > patient compliance and treatment efficacy.” > > In using an SLS 3D printer to etch the patterns into the printlets, > the researchers noted that the exercise of doing so actually added > weight to the printlets; > in fact, just one Braille dot added a 3.8 percent increase in weight, > while the Moon patterns added an increase of 4.9 percent. The patterns > were, however, > still visible as they allowed for tactile recognition. > > As mechanical properties were evaluated, the researchers noted that in > adding the patterns, the printlets were not affected. > > Mechanical properties and disintegration times of the printlets with > or without the addition of the Braille patterns. > Disintegration properties were not notably affected, and neither were > release rates of drugs. > > “Favorably, this technology offers the added benefit of using > different shapes that could be inferred to a medication’s name, timing > of intake (e.g., morning/evening), > or its targeted indication (e.g., cardiovascular drugs),” concluded > the researchers. “More importantly, as the pattern is directly printed > on top of the > tablet, the medication could be easily identified even when taken out > of the packaging. This decreases the risk of medication errors and > improves adherence > to treatment. In addition, as these printlets disintegrate rapidly > (e.g., within ~5 s), they avoid the need for water. This makes it > easier for these patients > to swallow the formulations, supporting self-administration and thus > avoiding the need of a career. > > “For the first time, this study demonstrates the use of 3D printing to > fabricate personalized dosage forms targeted to blind or visually > impaired individuals. > The SLS 3D printing technique could be used to manufacture printlets > with Braille or Moon patterns on their surface that could be read by > blind individuals. > It is likely that this innovative concept will provide a revolutionary > approach for the treatment of visually impaired individuals, improving > independence, > medicine adherence and reducing medicine errors.” > > Source: > 3D Printed Tablets (Printlets) with Braille and Moon Patterns for > Visually Impaired Patients > > > > -- > Ronald Jason Escrader. > Source: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/12/2/172
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