HP Logo PC and printer manufacturer Hewlett Packard announced that it has developed a product that can simultaneously release various types of medication into a person’s bloodstream, using just a skin patch that contains 1,000 “microneedles” per square inch.

HP who is known worldwide for its inkjet printers has certainly proved that this technology could be applicable in the medical field as well.

The “microneedles” are based on HP’s printer technology. They barely penetrate the surface of the skin, causing lesser amounts of pain when compared with the traditional hyperemic needle.

And, as there are around 1,000 such “microneedles” that are also combined with a microprocessor, the patch can be used to electronically deliver a number of drugs with different dosage as well as timing settings.

According to Joe Beyers, vice president of HP’s intellectual property licening division, “We really think it will open up a wide range of new applications in the drug delivery arena.”

HP has no plans of selling the patch itself, but the company will license the technology to a newly-formed Irish company called Crospon, which focuses on the monitoring and treatment of diabetes.