Implantable device actuated by manual button clicks for noninvasive self‐drug administration

Abstract

Self‐injectable therapy has several advantages in the treatment of metabolic disorders. However, frequent injections with needles impair patient compliance and medication adherence. Therefore, we develop a fully implantable device capable of on‐demand administration of self‐injection drugs via noninvasive manual button clicks on the outer skin. The device is designed to infuse the drug only at the moment of click actuation, which allows for an accurate and reproducible drug infusion, and also prevents unwanted drug leakage. Using a mechanical means of drug infusion, this implantable device does not contain any electronic compartments or batteries, making it compact, and semi‐permanent. When tested in animals, the device can achieve subcutaneous injection‐like pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic effects for self‐injection drugs such as exenatide, insulin, and glucagon.

Batteryless implantable device with built-in mechanical clock for automated and precisely timed drug administration

“…While filling the drug reservoir only once at the initiation of the experiments, the IDC infused the drug repeatedly for up to 80 turns until consuming 83.0 ± 1.2% of the drug from the drug container. The observed reproducibility of the IDC could be attributed to the use of a flexible bag for the drug container, which allowed the container to crumple as the drug was consumed, thereby minimizing negative pressure inside ( 27 , 28 ). Therefore, when the IDC was replenished with a fresh drug every 60 turns, the reproducibility of drug infusion was expected to be well-maintained for more than 1,000 infusions ( SI Appendix , Fig.…”

“…Particularly for applications in long-term drug therapy of chronic diseases, the combination of electronic circuits and actuators would still be necessary, which may result in a large device size for implantation. Electrochemical reactions or mechanical means have been utilized to actuate the device and release drug ( 28 , 36 , 37 ). However, such chemical reactions are irreversible, and thus, the device would eventually need to be replaced after implantation.…”

Implantable device with magnetically rotating disk for needle‐free administrations of emergency drug

“…From 15 days after implantation, the capsule thickness stabilized without an increase, as observed in our previous studies. 36,37…”

“…Prior to each administration day, the animals were fasted overnight to induce hypoglycemia, which was confirmed by a blood glucose level of less than 70 mg/dl. 36,62 At 0, 15, 30, 60, 120, and 180 min after glucose administration, 1-2 μl of blood was collected from the tail vein and measured using a glucometer.…”