Schoeller iLoads Prescriptions into Underwear

Would you put on underwear that doubles as a chemical delivery system? Swiss textile giant Schoeller bets you will, and has spun off a subsidiary devoted to producing what they think is the next huge trend in both the biotechnology and textile industries — medical underwear.  The underwear, made with a fabric known as iLoad, will literally dispense your medicine throughout the day.  The technology is predicted to foster a €500 million industry.

iLoad, the technology which won them the 2011 Swiss Innovation Award, can be loaded and reloaded with whatever kind of medication the wearer needs. The goal is ultimately to have people go to the drug store, underwear in hand, to get their prescription filled. If you wake up in the morning and feel a cold coming on, you’d get your cold-combatting low-rise briefs from the medicine cabinet and go about your day with a constant immune boost. It’s easy to imagine how this would be useful for people who are forgetful about their medication, too — you may misplace your pills, but you’re not going to forget to put on underwear, hopefully.