Digitpon, or digital tampon - is an innovative tampon design made of absorbent material capable of being compressed to self-sustaining form. A portion of the material is compressed to a rod-like shape to provide a rigid central support for the remaining relatively uncompressed portion.
Digi doesn’t digital; it simply means the product is inserted into the body by using a "digit" or finger---hence the name "digital tampon". There is a US patent on the design. It is interesting to note that over 97% of European female prefer digital tampons, and in the US only 3% of use them. Like many digital products, it has adoption issues.
I am no expert in this product category although I am very familiar with other personal care products, any innovation in the personal care space often have long adoption cycles. A digipon comprises an elongate absorbent body of unitary construction, with the remaining upper portion of the absorbent body being relatively uncompressed with upper portion overhanging the top end of said insertion. The bottom end of the insertion provides a small downward facing finger-receiving pocket based at the bottom end of said insertion means, and a withdrawal cord, one end of which is secured to at least the bottom end of said insertion means. Lots of human factor insights are incorporated into the design.
Without the need for any ethnographic studies, we know how some women the menstrual cramps can lead to nausea and makes it hard to concentrate on work. There are real unmet needs here that provide lots of opportunity for innovation.
New research to be presented at the 2009 American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) annual meeting in Now reveals that a new device to treat this pain is safe and effective--, since the device is essentially a glorified tampon. The research participants received an oral dose of 10 mg of Ketorolac (a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory medication), and nine of whom received a tampon coated with the same amount of the same drug. Then, during the next menstrual cycle, the patients switched treatments, so that each woman had access to each type of drug delivery system.
The results? The drug administered vaginally accumulated more efficiently in the uterine tissue than the drug administered orally. Existing oral medications cause significant gastrointestinal side effects for women, creating additional discomfort.
I think there are plenty of opportunities for drug delivery platform innovation, I am really bad in swallowing pills or capsules and I hated the after taste in many cases. I don’t see why drugs can not be delivered by many everyday surfaces. Here are two killer ideas:
Imagine you can use the computer mouse as delivery platform for vitamins or prescriptive medications. Knowing what deficiencies you have, now you can customize how those can be delivered. Don’t use your colleague’s computer without asking as you might end up getting an unnecessary dosage of Viagra.
Imagine you can use your iPhone skin as deliver platform for your cold medicine? And you can pick different colors and patterns. Polymers can be used as a drug delivery agent. The chemical conjugation or the physical embodiment of therapeutic agents in polymers offers great potential to improve the efficacy and safety of therapies and create novel therapeutic opportunities. Polymer is a large molecule (macromolecule) composed of repeating structural units typically connected by covalent chemical bonds. While polymer often suggests plastic, it actually refers to a large class of natural and synthetic materials with different properties.
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