What’s so smart about medical device packaging?

‘Smart packaging’ – it’s a buzzword that’s popped up in multiple industries recently – consumer, food – and yes, even medtech. Med-Tech Innovation’s Dave Gray examines this hot new trend.

First of all, let’s look at what smart packaging it’s not. After all, in the age of marketing jargon, it’s easy to over-sell (and under-sell) these things. For example, it’s a lot more than just sticking a QR code on the box which takes the user through to some safety documentation and a page of disclaimers that didn’t fit on the physical literature.

Equally, it’s not augmented or virtual reality. True, some brands are using that technology for promotional efforts in packaging – but that’s one for the consumer world. I think it’s unlikely that we’ll see such indulgences in medical device packaging for some time.

So, no QR, no AR and no VR. What is it then? Cambridge Consultants, which operates out of one of the UK’s leading medtech clusters, is a good place to start.

The group has been working on a new concept which would use audio messaging to communicate instructions – with the prompts being triggered by touch-sensitive paper technology. The group says that there’s a real clinical need for this, because poorly understood instructions can lead to drugs and devices being misused, potentially endangering the patient.

The concept, dubbed AudioPack, delivers instructions via an avatar named Ana, who guides the patient through step-by-step use of their medical device – particularly useful for devices like autoinjectors. Cambridge Consultants also says that there’s potential here for use amongst patients who have cognitive difficulties as a result of their condition. This, of course, would bring some time and efficiency savings in healthcare settings, where clinicians are required to instruct patients.

The whole thing is reminiscent of the trend towards voice-assistants in the smart homes sector. Audiopack even has it’s own avatar – Ana – not dissimilar to Amazon’s Alexa. Perhaps the next iteration of smart packaging will take this concept further into interactivity, whereby the patient could conceivably ask for guidance on using the product, or advice on side-effects, and receive a clinically-sound response.

Then there’s the story of Gautam and Kanupriya Goel – a husband and wife team based in the US. They pioneered self-expiring packaging, which is not the same as those fantastic self-destructing envelopes in Mission: Impossible. Instead of catching fire whenever your preventer inhaler goes out of date, the Goels’ product uses a dual layer of ink – with the bottom layer only becoming visible as the expiry date approaches.

Intelligent ink has certainly seen increasing usage in medical applications, but I expect that the coming years will propel advanced printed electronics to the fore of medical device packaging. It’s happening already. The August Faller Group for example recently announced a prototype of a ‘counting device’ – a folding carton for medicine which uses an e-paper display and electronic controls. The user just has to press a button on the display each time he/she takes a pill, and the packaging can track their dose. Another prototype from the firm, currently just called ‘Medical Prescription’ keeps track of the amount of pills and connects to a smartphone app via bluetooth, which in turn sends the signal to order a repeat prescription.

All of this is great news for medical device manufacturers. Smart packaging creates added value in the form of a closer bond with the patient – a rapidly emerging trend in the age of digital health. But smart packaging is not without a couple of significant drawbacks. Predictably, cost is the main one. Added value is all well and good, but if it can’t be achieved cheaply, it adds cost that some won’t be able to afford.

What’s more, smart packaging, as it evolves, will likely incorporate more and more elements, with increasing levels of functionality being added in. This means more components, more adhesives, more inks – all of which detract from the green credentials of the packaging in question. It’s not a huge problem at the moment – printed electronics don’t currently add too much foreign material into the waste stream. But it’s a key thing to consider as our ideas about smart packaging continue to evolve.