Patents granted for drug system, sensor
By a STAFF REPORTER

A NEW drug delivery technique and the invention of a magnetic sensor by local academics have received patents from the US Patent Office.

The sensor, invented by a microelectronics research team in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, can improve the performance of magnetic recording devices such as tape recorders and computer hard disks.

The team was led by Dr Jack Lau, who initiated the research project for his doctoral thesis, for which he received the first PhD to be conferred by the university.

'Our new sensor is designed using material that is compatible with silicon-based circuits, so potentially they can be integrated into one component. The advantage of integration is lower manufacturing costs and more reliable components,' Dr Lau said.

In biotechnology, Professor Jeffrey Wong has devised a new drug delivery technique which may improve the lives of patients with chronic illnesses such as diabetes.

Professor Wong, who is director of the university's Drug Delivery Technology Centre, worked with the Chinese University of Hong Kong's Dr S. C. Tam to find a way to deliver protein and peptide drugs into the bloodstream via the lungs.

'Many diabetic patients have to give themselves daily injections of the protein hormone insulin to control diabetes,' Professor Wong said.

'Our system, which involves inhaling the drug in a mist form, could replace these injections in some patients.'

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