The CuraCator™ is a medical device invented by board-certified dermatologist Dr. Janine Hopkins, that is entirely unique and novel to the world of application science. In a recent interview of Dr. Hopkins by MedEsthetics Magazine, they proclaimed, “the best innovations come from professionals who recognize a need or an opportunity to improve their existing tools.”
Dr. Hopkins did just that. She recognized the need for a new application tool when she was applying platelet-rich plasma (PRP) post-laser skin resurfacing to her patient. Topical PRP treatments were relatively new at the time so there was no real safety protocol for how the procedure was supposed to be performed. Dr. Hopkins, like many others, began applying the PRP to the patient’s skin by dripping it from a needle-ended syringe, that is, until she nearly experienced a needle stick! She immediately realized how dangerous that method of application is because PRP is a blood-borne particle, and if stuck, physicians are exposed to any infectious diseases the patient may have.
This was the moment that led Dr. Hopkins to search for “a non-sharp device that could be used on the end of a syringe to control the application of the PRP” but to no avail. So, as she told MedEsthetics, “After about three years of searching, my husband finally said ‘Hey, why don’t we call a patent attorney and see if the device is patented or not?’" Dr. Hopkins proceeded to do just that!
The device launched in August 2021 as a disc-shaped attachment for Luer lock syringes. The CuraCator™ contains over a dozen micropores that accurately dispense and disperse products evenly and smoothly, eliminating residual waste and eliminating the risk of needle sticks. The device is needle-free and single-use only, making it the only standard of care for safe application of topical products, such as PRP and exosomes, to skin.
Thank you MedEsthetics Magazine for the great interview!
