Ultrasound Skin Permeation Technology

Langer, Sc.D, professor of chemical and biomedical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA), and Dr. Joseph Kost. According to Dr. Langer, the ultrasound skin permeation technology can also be used to "open up the skin” so that important analytes such as glucose can be extracted and measured in a painless and noninvasive way. The technology is being commercialized by Sontra Medical Corp. (also in Cambridge), which is developing transdermal diagnostic and drug delivery products.

The skin permeation technology, called SonoPrep, has been developed to the point that Sontra is about to begin initial human clinical studies on its lead product, the Symphony Diabetes Management System, for continuous noninvasive monitoring of glucose. Other applications proposed are the transdermal drug delivery of large-molecule biopharmaceuticals and topically applied drugs and cosmetics, and skin preparation to improve electrophysiology tests.