Transdermal Patches With Decorative Substrates
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional transdermal patches lack expressive designs and are often bulky, opaque, and intended to be discreet, failing to provide a durable form of self-expression and body adornment while administering compounds effectively.
Innovation Solution
The development of transdermal patches with clear, thin substrates that allow for vibrant, multi-color designs to be printed, mimicking tattoos, and incorporating a compound formulation that absorbs through the skin, using a substrate composed of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic and an adhesive layer for secure skin attachment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If conventional transdermal patches use clear substrates, then transparency is improved, but the ability to print designs is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the transparency function of clear substrates with the design printing capability by combining multiple layers: a clear substrate layer that provides transparency, an adhesive layer, and a decorative layer with printed designs. This allows the patch to maintain visual appeal while enabling compound delivery through the skin.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite material structures where a clear substrate is combined with adhesive layers and decorative print layers. This composite approach allows the patch to simultaneously achieve transparency for aesthetic purposes and printable design surfaces for customization, resolving the contradiction between these two features.
2Illumination intensity
If conventional transdermal patches use thick fabric substrates with opaque coloring, then artwork display is improved, but bulkiness and opacity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs thin film substrates instead of thick fabric substrates. These thin films provide sufficient structural integrity while maintaining flexibility and reducing bulkiness. The thin substrate allows artwork to be displayed clearly without requiring opaque coloring, thus achieving artwork visibility without the penalty of increased thickness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by making the substrate thin and transparent in most areas to reduce bulkiness, while concentrating the artwork display function in specific printed regions on the adhesive or decorative layers. This allows selective opacity only where needed for design elements, rather than making the entire patch opaque and bulky.
3Ease of operation
If conventional transdermal patches are designed to be invisible or discreet, then discretion is improved, but expressive design capability is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dynamics by making the patch design adaptable and changeable. Users can select from various design options and customize their patches to express personal style while maintaining the core function of transdermal delivery. The design can be adjusted based on user preference, allowing the patch to transition between discreet and expressive modes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent achieves universality by designing a patch system that serves multiple functions: transdermal compound delivery, aesthetic adornment, and personal expression. The same basic patch structure can accommodate various design preferences from discreet to highly expressive, making it universally applicable to different user needs and occasions.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
These patches offer a visually appealing, durable means of administering compounds with expressive designs, appearing as tattoos while maintaining the convenience of transdermal delivery without the drawbacks of injections, ingestion, or inhalation, and without the permanence or expense of traditional adornment methods.
Implementation Method 1
The adhesive is disposed on the bottom side of the substrate and is configured to selectively couple the substrate to the skin
Implementation Method 2
The compound formulation is disposed on the bottom side of the substrate and is configured to absorb through the skin into a bloodstream below the skin
Data Source
AI summary
Transdermal patches including a substrate, an adhesive, and a compound formulation. The substrate is configured as a planer member with a first major face and a second major face opposite the first major face. The substrate is configured to mount to skin and includes a bottom side and a top side. The bottom side defines the first major face of the substrate and faces the skin when the substrate is mounted to the skin. The top side is opposite the bottom side and defines the second major face of the substrate. The top side includes an ornamental design. The adhesive is disposed on the bottom side of the substrate and is configured to selectively couple the substrate to the skin. The compound formulation is disposed on the bottom side of the substrate and is configured to absorb through the skin into a bloodstream below the skin.