Northwestern U professor talks details about intravaginal ring device

Patrick F. Kiser Ph.D, Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University discusses a device that could change women’s reproductive health in a significant way–an intravaginal ring that delivers antiviral protection against HIV and herpes and contraceptives to protect against pregnancy with Outbreak News This Week Radio show host Robert Herriman on the March 15 show.

Dr Patrick Kiser holding the IVR
Image/Kiser Lab

Read more about the study at PLoS ONE.

In a nutshell, Kiser and his team developed a ring, 5.5 centimeters in diameter and is easily inserted in the vagina and stays in place for three months.

The ring delivers controlled doses of tenofovir (a common antiretroviral drug) and levonorgestrel (a contraceptive) for 90 days.

A small Phase I clinical trial is set to commence this early summer, according to Dr Kiser.

Patrick Kiser is a faculty member in the department of biomedical engineering at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science and in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Listen to more details about the device, the development and the engineering behind the intravaginal ring in the audio below:

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