Originally designed for use in regions of the world where access to health care is limited, the new method of contraception developed by the team of Prof. Mark Prausnitz, of the Georgia Institute of technology (United States) could offer an alternative to women seeking a long-acting contraceptive such ascontraceptive implant, for example.
This contraceptive is self-administered using a skin patch equipped with micro-needles, originally developed for the painless administration of vaccines. When the patch is applied for a few seconds, the microscopic needles break off and remain below the skin’s surface, where biodegradable polymers slowly release the hormonal contraceptive.
One patch once a month
Contrary to what already exists, this patch should not be worn permanently. It is applied once a month, like a kind of renewable vaccine. “If the contraceptive patch is ultimately approved for use, this patch could become the first long-acting self-administered contraceptive that does not involve a conventional needle injection.”underlines Prof. Prausnitz.
Experimental patches making it possible to deliver a contraceptive hormone for men have also been developed, but have not yet been tested. Researchers are also studying the possibility of providing enough hormones to be protected for six months.
The study on this new contraceptive technology was published in the journal Nature biomedical engineering.
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