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Company Develops Automated System for Transducer Production
Corinne Litchfield

A maker of needle-free drug-delivery technology has developed a mass-production system for its ultrasonic transducers. Dermisonics Inc. (Irvine, CA; www.dermisonics.com) makes the transducers for use in its U-Strip ultrasonic drug-delivery system.

The U-Strip patented electronic system uses ultrasound waves and a special patch. The system is designed to enhance drug delivery through the skin and into the bloodstream. The unit’s transducers emit an ultrasonic waveform that goes from sawtooth to squarewave. As a result, the transducers generate large amounts of heat energy, which can damage a drug in a transdermal patch delivery system. By alternating the signal, the heating effect is reduced.

Until recently, the transducers were made by hand. The firm’s engineers have developed a manufacturing mold system that can make the transducers on an assembly-line basis. The new system is expected to improve transducer precision and reduce manufacturing costs.

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