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| Courtesy:Hera Health
Solutions |
Eucontra is a resorbable contraceptive arm implant
made from a biodegradable material that differs from current contraceptive
implants in that it does not need to be removed when the implant’s effective
period is over. It found a spot in top three Emerging
Medical Innovations in the 16th Annual Design of Medical Devices Conference.
The
conference was held at University of Minnesota and claimed by the organizers as
the world’s largest premiere medical devices conference. Minnesota has a rich
history regarding medical device innovations and a great deal of medical device
technologies, particularly implantable devices, originated in this state.
Eucontra is an
implant made up of electrospun poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) nanofibres and Etonogestrel
that surface degrades over the three-year span that the hormone is released. It can
be used with the current applicators and it is radiopaque and shows up in
Ultrasound. It is 99.99% effective in preventing pregnancy.
The company, Hera Health Solutions is looking
for funding to further support these designs with proof of concept and start
manufacturing the product for the international market.
The current
implantable contraceptive device needs to be surgically removed after 3 years
when the drug runs out. Over 25 million devices have been distributed outside
USA in the year 2015 and this means over 8 million implants will need to be
removed surgically by 2020.
The device is often lost, migrating from the site of implant, necessitating a difficult removal and long time in operative room.
Here is a video about the new
innovative Eucontra device.
Eucontra Concept
