Topical medication dispenser

DermoDose: empowering patients and dermatologists with precise dosing, safer treatments,

and daily monitoring for faster, side-effect-free skin recovery.

THE TEAM

Alessandro Pezzola

ETH D-ITET

Mischari Ünesen​

UZH Mef

Ema Savic ​

UZH Mef

Massimo Ambrosini

ETH D-ITET

Why DermoDose was born: Our Survey

We interviewed 4 dermatologists, who confirmed the absence of a commercially available dispenser for topical medications.

At least 70% of the people we interviewed would find highly beneficial a precise dispenser for topical medications.

What do Customers say?

What do Experts say?

Business Opportunity

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• 20-25% of the population suffers from a skin disease [1]

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• World’s 8^th leading cause of non-fatal burden [2].

[2]

Our principles

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• Precision: Accurate dosage, safer treatments.
• Clarity: Seamless communication between doctor and patient.
• Empowerment: Daily monitoring for faster recovery.
• Simplicity: Intuitive App, essential design.

Precision

Empowerment

Clarity

Simplicity

DermoDose: How does it work?

1. Create an account and enter your personal information on the App
2. Take a picture of your skin
3. Start Dosage calculation with your dermatologist

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DermoDose: How does it work?

1. Create an account and enter your personal information on the App
2. Start Dosage calculation with yopur dermatologist
3. Take a picture of your skin
4. Insert DermoStick in the specified ring and fill the chamber completely
5. Apply cream directly using DermoStick
6. Retake picture everytime you apply the cream and adapt dosage
7. Wash it in your dishwasher

• 7 different Rings
• 0.05 mL Resolution

DermoDose: the Model I

1. Identify Medication and Dosage Needs

For each medication:

- Concentration of active principle is known.

- Dosage required to treat 1 cm³ of infected skin (in mg)

is specified. [4]

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2. Estimate Volume of Infected Skin

- Simplify volume estimation with the formula:

Volume = Surface Area × Thickness.

3. Precise Surface Area Calculation

- Use a segmentation algorithm to define the area of infection.

DermoDose: the Model II

4. Skin Thickness Estimation

Average skin thickness (dermis + subcutis) data collected for different body parts. [5]

- Input Required: Infection location[6]

- Patient-Specific corrections coefficients based on:

- Age

- Gender

- Body Mass Index (BMI)

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5. Treatment Volume and Application Plan

- Calculate Required Volume:

- Using estimated infection area and thickness.

- Output:

- Optimal ring combination provided for precise and effective application.

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T_f = T₀ + A_age + B_BMI + G_gender

Target Audience

Dermatology clinics, hospitals and private practices

Switzerland, Italy and Europe market

All dermatology patients receive Dermodose at their first visit.

Reduced number of visits per patient through in app self-monitoring of infection

100-200 clinics in Switzerland [7]

~ 1100 dermatologists

~ 2500-3000 patients per dermatologist

What do they say about DermoDose?

“The system is remarkably simple to

use, both for calculating precise dosages and for ensuring proper application of the

cream on the skin. Additionally, the Dermodose app is extremely user-friendly and

significantly speeds up the prescription process for patients. “

Prof. Dr. Ghislanzoni, Milano

“Straightforward way to measure the desired dosage and DermoStick was just perfect to apply the cream directly on the skin”

"I liked the simple design of DermoDose, but I struggled a bit with positioning the green square correctly for the picture. Once I got it right, everything worked well."

"I like the idea of daily monitoring with DermoDose, as it helps me keep track of my condition. However, I still feel it's important for my dermatologist to review the pictures and provide further recommendations. That said, having all my pictures stored in one place for easy access by my doctor is a great feature and really helpful for ongoing treatment."

Lorenzo, student

Vittoria, student

Matteo, student

CrossDisciplinary Communication

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1. Diverse Expertise:

-Despite lacking product development experience, medical students contributed valuable insights on selecting target creams (antibiotic creams and corticosteroids) and determining effective concentrations for treating various pathologies.

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2. Overcoming Initial Challenges:

- Initial struggles with the feasibility and practicality of the ideas and their implementations, given that the medical students had ideas with a potentially huge impact but hardly implementable.

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3. Successful Integration of Medical Knowledge:

- The successful inclusion of medical insights into the development process demonstrated the effectiveness of cross-disciplinary collaboration, enhancing the product’s relevance and efficacy.

Bibliography

[1] Yakupu A, Aimaier R, Yuan B, Chen B, Cheng J, Zhao Y, Peng Y, Dong J, Lu S. The burden of skin and subcutaneous diseases: findings from the global burden of disease study 2019. Front Public Health. 2023 Apr 17;11:1145513. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1145513. PMID: 37139398; PMCID: PMC10149786.

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[2] Global incidence, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and health life expectancy (HALE) for 371 diseases and injuries in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990 -2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Lancet 2024; 403:2133-61

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[3] Madan RK, Levitt J. A review of toxicity from topical salicylic acid preparations. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2014 Apr;70(4):788-792. doi: 10.1016/j.jaad.2013.12.005. Epub 2014 Jan 25. PMID: 24472429.

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[4] Homayoon D, Dahlhoff P, Augustin M. Adequate prescription and application of topicals : How to calculate the right volume for the prescription of ointment needed?. Hautarzt. 2018 Jun;69(6):478-483. German. Doi: 10.1007/s00105-017-4088-z. PMID: 29247255.

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[5] Yousef H, Alhajj M, Fakoya AO, et al. Anatomy, Skin (Integument), Epidermis. [Updated 2024 Jun 8]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL) StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470464/

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[6] Osborne JE, Hutchinson PE. The importance of accurate dosage of topical agents: a method of estimating involved area and application to

calcipotriol treatment failures. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2002 Jul;16(4):367-73. doi: 10.1046/j.1468-3083.2002.00432.x. PMID: 12224694.

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[7] https://www.onlinedoctor.ch/en/dermatologists/

Appendix I

Model Coefficients for estimating Skin thickness:

1. Age:

- Divided into four categories: children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly.

- Affects the thickness of the dermis and subcutis through age-specific adjustment factors (e.g., thinner skin in the elderly due to collagen loss).

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2. Gender:

- Influences dermis and subcutis differently.

- Males have a dermis factor increase (due to generally thicker dermis), while females have a subcutis factor increase (accounting for typically higher subcutaneous fat levels).

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3. Body Mass Index (BMI):

- Adjusts thickness by applying linear scaling factors for both dermis and subcutis.

- Higher BMI correlates with increased subcutaneous fat thickness.

Appendix II

Site factor T₀:

4. Anatomical Site:

- Different base values for dermis and subcutis are retrieved from the predefined dictionary.

- Acknowledges that skin thickness varies significantly across body parts (e.g., thinner on eyelids, thicker on palms).

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5. Medications included:

- With time the goal is to enlarge further the number of medications included but collecting data requires time and getting directly in contact with the pharmaceutical company. For now, we have included these 6.

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Medication required concentration: