Future IT in health care: Printers that make drugs

May 9, 2008 (IDG News Service) JAKARTA, Indonesia -- In the not-too-distant future, people could use computer printers to make simple medicines as part of a do-it-yourself model of health care, a top Microsoft Corp. executive said today.

Printers are already liquid delivery systems, but instead of ink, people might someday put the ingredients of different medications into printer cartridges, said Craig Mundie, chief research and strategy officer at Microsoft, in a speech here.

The drugstore-in-a-box, as he called it, would be part of several devices that could increasingly use IT for health diagnosis and treatment.

In an example, Mundie envisioned a mobile phone that also contained breath analysis technology such as that used to detect alcohol in the breath of drunken drivers. But instead of just alcohol, the technology would be tweaked to determine a lot about a person's health. The handset could analyze a person's breath for disease, chemical imbalances and other troubles, and then a clinic could provide a diagnosis.

The mobile phone user might then go to a clinic to print out the medication. The computer would assess the person's weight, gender and other factors to determine the right combination of ingredients to treat the ailment, then print out a sheet of "tablets." The person would then peel them off like mailing labels and let them dissolve in the mouth, Mundie said.

Such technology is unavailable today, and Microsoft said it's just an idea. But Mundie said the technology sector is poised to come up with novel ways to improve health care. He pointed to examples in recent history where people once had to see a doctor but can now diagnose themselves at home, such as using home pregnancy tests.

Reprinted with permission from

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