A soft electronics-enabled smart microneedle patch for neck pain management

Project Summary Neck pain is a common cause of disability with 33.6 million disability-adjusted life years in the U.S. The cost for neck pain due to production loss and sick leave are almost nine times higher compared to the health care costs. However, neck pain is a relative understudied condition with no efficacious treatment

currently available. The first-line treatments are oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to decrease herniated disc induced inflammation, however, these oral treatments may cause gastrointestinal tract ulcer/bleeding, liver and kidney injuries. Non-invasive patches can avoid the side effects of oral administration,

but often lack in efficacy due to limited drug penetration blocked by natural skin barrier—stratum corneum. Our recent development of film electronics that allow to be integrated onto any surface provides an opportunity to develop this electronic device controlled smart transdermal microneedle pain patch. In this project, we propose

to develop a wireless soft electronics enabled smart microneedle drug delivery patch to manage neck pain by integrating electronic devices with thermo-responsive therapeutic microneedles. Successful completion of this project will promote a multimodal patient-centered smart patch in reducing risk for GI upset and first-pass

metabolism of oral drugs and avoiding opioid addiction.