Kim Dae-Hyeong and colleagues at Seoul National University have created a dermal patch that measures and records muscle activity, dispenses medicine continuously, and stops drug delivery when appropriate. The study was published in Nature Nanotechnology today.

The system is ideal for Parkinson’s patients, as tremors that accompany the movement disorder are not constant. The patch senses tremors early and immediately releases a small amount of the drug it contains.

Silicon nano membranes were used in the motion sensors, gold nanoparticles in the non-volatile memory and silica nanoparticles loaded with drugs in a thermal actuator. All were integrated in a patch capable of resisting stretch and bend forces, suitable for skin. Wireless components will be incorporated in the future to make the device fully mobile.