New Wearable Device Could Protect Against HIV and Pregnancy
HIV-infected T Cell NIAID via Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons If a sexually active woman wants to protect herself from unwanted pregnancy and HIV using a single method, she has always been limited to condoms. A new paper, released today in PLOS ONE details a first-of-its-kind device that provides an alternative. Northwestern University biomedical engineer and professor Patrick Kiser, with lead author Justin Clark, has made a 5.5-cm intravaginal ring (IVR) that contains levonorgestrel, a synthetic progestin hormone, and tenofovir, an anti-retroviral drug. The two drugs are vastly different, not just in their purposes, but also in their properties: tenofovir is water-soluble, but levonorgestrel is water-insoluble. Patrick Kiser holds the IVR Northwestern University This presents an engineering problem, since the drugs are diffused through the material of the ring (in this case, the ring)—meaning the material needs to...