{"id":2055,"date":"2022-03-01T18:15:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-01T18:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/?p=2055"},"modified":"2024-06-07T18:21:47","modified_gmt":"2024-06-07T18:21:47","slug":"small-cyberphysical-watermarks-could-prevent-huge-headaches-caused-by-fake-meds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/2022\/Q1\/small-cyberphysical-watermarks-could-prevent-huge-headaches-caused-by-fake-meds","title":{"rendered":"Small cyberphysical watermarks could prevent huge headaches caused by fake meds"},"content":{"rendered":"

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. —<\/p> \n

Counterfeit medications and pharmaceutical products are just a click away from being purchased from online pharmacies via smartphone.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

However, new anticounterfeiting technology can turn a smartphone into a lifesaver by simply taking a picture of a cyberphysical watermark and confirming if the medication is real or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The technology was developed by a team of biomedical engineers from Purdue University and was published in journal Advanced Functional Materials<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young Kim<\/a>, associate head for research and an associate professor in Purdue\u2019s Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering<\/a>, says the continued rise of counterfeit medications, pharmaceutical products and medical supplies can be attributed to the increase of online pharmacies, many of which are unregulated.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Young Kim, associate head for research and an associate professor in Purdue University\u2019s Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, shows the new anticounterfeiting technology for medications. (Purdue University photo\/John Underwood)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

To address the growing issue, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is requiring by 2023 that medications have unit-level traceability through the Drug Supply Chain Security Act<\/a>. Kim said pharmaceutical companies have the ability to track boxes or sheets of medications, but adding traceability directly on a pill could require adding numerous manufacturing and data management steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have technology that can empower patients to check to see if the cyberphysical watermark on the medications they are taking is real or counterfeit,\u201d Kim said. \u201cThis allows them to also confirm dose, frequency and information on the medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA paper watermark is commonly used on currency and a passport to discourage counterfeiting, and we are affixing a watermark on an individual medicine that is readable by a smartphone camera to extract a hidden digital key,\u201d Kim said. \u201cPurdue has an excellent track record of watermarking and inkjet printing research. We are proud that we have extended such national security research into pharmaceuticals as counterfeit medicines are a national security problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cyberphysical watermark is printed on specialized fluorescent silk with FDA-approved food dye through an inkjet printer \u2013 a common technique that bakers use for placing edible photos on cakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hee-Jae Jeon, a postdoctoral fellow who is also the first author of the study, said that silk is all protein and can be edible.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
People can use a smartphone application to activate a new cyberphysical watermark to detect whether the medication they are taking is real or fake. Purdue biomedical engineers have developed the cyberphysical watermark as a way to reduce fake medications. (Purdue University photo\/John Underwood)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cSilk is a great choice for eating, as we also were not wanting to use synthetic or artificial materials and fluorescent silk makes a counterfeiter very difficult to duplicate the watermark.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jung Woo Leem, a postdoctoral research associate, said that in addition to being edible, the silk is a good option for pharmaceuticals because engineers have the ability to change the biopolymer\u2019s shape, structure and flexibility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The engineers also addressed how to use the technology with different smartphone models, photo quality and light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA person can take a photo under different light conditions and will have different images. It\u2019s the same issue when patients take photos of our watermark in their phone,\u201d Kim said. \u201cThe reference colors on the watermark\u2019s periphery allow us to know the true color value of the watermarked image as each smartphone has different spectral sensitivity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Placed on pills using a simple sugar glue, the smallest size of watermark the team could produce is 5 milimeters by 5 milimeters. While the team has had success with solid pills, it is working also on developing technology for liquids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kim said that the technology could be used first on name-brand medications and restricted narcotics before being rolled out on over-the-counter medications and generics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This work continues the research Kim and his team have done on medication security<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to Kim, Jeon and Leem, members of the research team were Yuhyun Ji and Sang Mok Park from Purdue\u2019s Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering; and Jongwoo Park, Kee-Young Kim and Seong-Wan Kim from the Department of Agricultural Biology at the National Institute of Agricultural Sciences in South Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Funding came from the Cooperative Research Program for Agriculture Science and Technology Development (PJ015364) from the Rural Development Administration of the Republic of Korea, the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA2386-17-1-4072), the Trask Innovation Fund from Purdue University, and the NIH Technology Accelerator Challenge from the National Institutes of Health. The technology was disclosed to the Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization<\/a>, which has applied for a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to protect the intellectual property. For information on licensing opportunities, contact Patrick Finnerty of OTC at pwfinnerty@prf.org<\/a> about 2022-KIM-69723.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Purdue University<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to today\u2019s toughest challenges. Ranked in each of the last four years as one of the 10 Most Innovative universities in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at\u00a0https:\/\/stories.purdue.edu<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n\n

Recent Purdue Biomedical Engineering stories<\/span><\/h2>\n \n <\/div>\n\n