At the AHASS meeting, professor of internal medicine at Wake Forest University Min Pu, MD made the case for the potential benefits of developing precision medication using 3D printing. Dr.Pu and his fellow researchers created a prototype for a customized 3D printed pill process, including a computer algorithm, 3D printing software and automatic dosage-adjustment capabilities. Once the individual patient’s’ medical and biological information has been input into the algorithm, the software will calculate their personalized dose and then generate the data required to 3D print custom pills.
“Our study uses the volume-concentration method to generate 3D-printed pills. What’s different from current pharmaceutical industrials is that we use a computer algorithm to design and calculate dosages according to patients’ biological and clinical parameters instead of using pre-determined dosages. Therefore, we can instantly create personalized pills. These personalized pills are then converted to 3D printable files and the pills can then be accurately printed using a 3D printer,” Dr. Pu explained to .
“Pharmacogenetics, which matches patients to drugs based on DNA information, offers an opportunity to provide care, treatment, and medicines customized to the individual. This type of personalized precision medicine requires physicians to prescribe customized drug products containing unique drug-dosage combinations and/or formulations specifically for individual patients,” continued Dr. Pu.
There is also the issue of most pharmacies being ill-equipped to provide medication compounding services. Most hospitals still compound medications, but typically only for intravenous medications not oral pills. Many pharmacists will simply not have the training needed to compound the medication accurately. Dr. Pu and his team don’t see the 3D printed pill process as a replacement for the standard medication manufacturing methods currently used by the pharmaceutical industry. Rather they see it as a potential option available to doctors who are treating specific types of medical problems or with patients who are especially sensitive to medications.
There is also the potential to produce compound pills of several different prescribes medications into a single pill, either for convenience or patients who have difficulties swallowing multiple pills. The process is also ideal for clinical trials, which are usually designed for the average patient. 3D printed pills customized for individual trial participants would provide a much more accurate set of data and potentially lead to safer medications. Are 3D printed pills the future of medication? Let us know in the thread on 3DPB.com.