Jason T. McConville, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Health Sciences Center
The University of New Mexico
Dr. McConville has disclosed five inventions to STC and has three pending patent applications for a wireless medication monitor, an aerosol delivery method for nutraceuticals, and a polymeric coating technology.
Even in affluent countries with well-developed healthcare infrastructure, adherence to long-term medication therapy for chronic illness averages only 50 percent. Medical compliance is essential in order to allow medications to be most effective. Once the medication is distributed, healthcare providers do not have a method of ensuring that the medication is being taken properly per the doctor’s instructions. Often times, patients can be forgetful, lose track of time, or do not take the appropriate amount of the medication. There is a present market need for an efficient method for monitoring patient use of medication to ensure overall health and recovery.
Dr. McConville’s wireless medication monitor is a device that allows real-time reporting of medication administration to all individuals involved in the patient’s care. This device is capable of monitoring medication as it is removed from the packaging. The data can be stored locally with a time and date stamp for each removed dosage of medicine, or it can transmit an event code to a remote computer for storage. In addition, the monitoring system can be used to alert the patient to take his/her medication at the appropriate time and day. This technology allows providers and family members to monitor patient medication adherence in real time.
His aerosol delivery technology is a nanoemulsion that can be nebulized into the lung and, prior to use, it can be stored as a dry dosage for later re-dispersion and nebulization for lung cancer therapy.
Dr. McConville and his co-inventors, Dr. Jason Trujillo and Dr. Jeffrey Norenberg, have collaboratively worked on the polymer coating technology. The invention uses a method to coat insertion devices, such as endotracheal tubes, with a polymer containing one or more medications as a direct drug-delivery system for local, rapid or controlled release. Dr. McConville and his team demonstrated that 90 percent of a model drug can be released in 60 seconds. The endotracheal application would reduce local inflammation, pain, edema, and swelling following intubation.
Dr. McConville’s research focuses on pharmaceutics, a broad-based field within pharmacy that deals with turning new or old drugs into medications that are properly dosed for effective and safe use by patients. Dr. McConville is interested in delivery systems such as aerosols, oral absorption, and gastric timed-release that increase the therapeutic effectiveness of drugs.
PENDING PATENT APPLICATIONS
Wireless Medication Monitor
Aerosol Delivery of Nutraceuticals
Polymeric Coating of Endotracheal Tubes for Local Drug Delivery