MIT engineers 3D print implant for diabetic patients that releases medicine under the skin — chip can be wirelessly activated to melt an alloy that releases powdered glucagon

3D printed chip
(Image credit: MIT)

Engineers from MIT, including team leader Siddharth Krishnan, are paving the way when it comes to 3D printed medicine. The team recently created a chip with a 3D-printed component that can be embedded under the skin. This 3D-printed mechanism is able to release medicinal contents when the device is triggered by a wireless command.

According to the news publication shared by MIT, there are potential use cases for this technology in quite a few areas of medicine. For example, the device could be used to help diabetic patients receive critical doses of medicine automatically when they need it. It can also be used to deliver medicine to patients while they sleep.

Ash Hill
Contributing Writer

Ash Hill is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware with a wealth of experience in the hobby electronics, 3D printing and PCs. She manages the Pi projects of the month and much of our daily Raspberry Pi reporting while also finding the best coupons and deals on all tech.

  • Dr3ams
    As a long time type 2 diabetic, the worst thing that could happen when controlling blood sugar is taking too much insulin and/or taking insulin before an activity or excercising. This has happened to me several times and the subsequent low blood sugar is a nightmare. Over the years, I've learned to carefully monitor my intake and activities after taking insulin. I will never trust any device to auto inject insulin. Too many things could go wrong with that, especially for a system that uses a wireless network to manage diabetes.
    Reply