# A soft electronics-enabled smart microneedle patch for neck pain management

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA · 2024 · $417,090

## Abstract

Project Summary
 Neck pain is a common cause of disability with 33.6 million disability-adjusted life years in the U.S. The
cost for neck pain due to production loss and sick leave are almost nine times higher compared to the
health care costs. However, neck pain is a relative understudied condition with no efficacious treatment
currently available. The first-line treatments are oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to
decrease herniated disc induced inflammation, however, these oral treatments may cause gastrointestinal tract
ulcer/bleeding, liver and kidney injuries. Non-invasive patches can avoid the side effects of oral administration,
but often lack in efficacy due to limited drug penetration blocked by natural skin barrier—stratum corneum. Our
recent development of film electronics that allow to be integrated onto any surface provides an opportunity to
develop this electronic device controlled smart transdermal microneedle pain patch. In this project, we propose
to develop a wireless soft electronics enabled smart microneedle drug delivery patch to manage neck
pain by integrating electronic devices with thermo-responsive therapeutic microneedles. Successful completion
of this project will promote a multimodal patient-centered smart patch in reducing risk for GI upset and first-pass
metabolism of oral drugs and avoiding opioid addiction.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10952422
- **Project number:** 1R21AG088864-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Li Jin
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $417,090
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-08-15 → 2026-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10952422

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10952422, A soft electronics-enabled smart microneedle patch for neck pain management (1R21AG088864-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-13 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10952422. Licensed CC0.

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