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hi-tech plaster that could revolutionise the lives of Parkinson's disease patients has been developed.The latest nanotechnology has been used to create a small patch that can read tremors associated with the disease and administer the appropriate amount of drugs to treat them.
Thinner than a small coin, it could be worn on the wrist and has potential uses for other motor diseases such as multiple sclerosis and essential tremor.
Scientists have created a patch which could help control the tremors of Parkinson's disease patients
Parkinson's is a neurological condition in which nerve cells in the brain have died.
The nerve cells create the hormone dopamine and without it a person's movements become slower and they experience tremors.
Currently, people with the condition have to carry bulky strap-on readers to measure their tremors and also medication.
Every few hours, after checking the device, the person has to take a tablet to control the disease.
But that creates spikes in medication levels followed by a gradual decline that causes the tremors to return - before sufferers need to take another dose.
The new technology, developed by scientists in the U.S. and South Korea, would mean all patients would have to do is stick on the patch.
It consistently monitors tremors using a sensor and releases smaller, more frequent, doses of drugs.
This means a person's tremors are kept constantly at bay which is much healthier for the sufferer.
The patch measures tremors and releases drugs to control them when needed. Michael J. Fox (pictured) was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1991
Dae-Hyeong Kim, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering at Seoul National University, said: ‘This could be a big deal for Parkinson's disease patients.
‘The patient can attach the patch and forget about it without worrying about side effects or remembering to take pills.’
He added: ‘The system represents a new direction in personalised health care that will eventually enable advanced diagnostics and therapy on devices that can be worn like a child's temporary tattoo.’
The patch is in a thin, low-power form, making it ideal for easy movement with long enough life for the wearer to forget they even have it on.
The data is stored in the patch while its bottom layer is coated with porous nanoparticles which are loaded with drugs.
A small heater in the patch automatically warms the nanoparticles when the patch senses tremors, causing them to release the correct amount of drugs into the skin.
A temperature sensor prevents the device from overheating and causing burns.
The patch covers an area comparable to a medium-sized adhesive bandage, and the researchers say the entire patch is thinner than a small coin.
Researchers hope that eventually the patch could be made even smaller and become something like a transfer on the skin - similar to a child's temporary tattoo.
The new device, which is currently a prototype, was designed by scientists from Seoul National University and MC10, a start-up company in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
One person in every 500 develops Parkinson's disease – there are about 127,000 sufferers in the UK.
Most people who get the condition are aged 50 or over but one in 20 is under the age of 40.
The research is published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
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