Smart miniature drug delivery systems

Introduction

• The smart miniature drug delivery sytem is for delivering the drugs to the host.Biological information is detected by biological sensors, the information is analyzed and drug delivery system is actuated to deliver the drug based on the information.
• This system utilizes MEMS or NEMS technology based drug pumps, micro-pumps, micro-needles, micro-osmotic pumps, Nano-pumps.
• It also includes sensors or communication systems to activate or control pumps.
• Microsystems technologies are changing the Life Sciences industry. New in vitro diagnostic systems, new therapy strategies, genetic diseases treatment, targeted and intelligent drug delivery, artificial pancreas, drug discovery processes are health improvement promised to the future generations, enabled by semiconductor and MEMS technologies. The Life Sciences industry already faces critical challenges to take its way to its expected market.
• The bar graph below gives details of the MEMS component for lifescience market

MEMS component lifescience market Source

• Micro- and nano-electromechanical systems (MEMS or NEMS)-based drug delivery devices offer opportunities to address unmet medical needs related to dosing. Such devices should be considered when conventional dosing methods perform suboptimally in terms of safety, efficacy, pain, or convenience. In addition, applications of these technologies may create totally new drug delivery paradigms. MEMS technologies may create new therapies with existing molecular entities.

Some of the MEMS based drug delivery systems are listed below

Micropumps

• Although any kind of small pump is often referred to as micropump, a more accurate and up-to-date definition restricts this term to pumps with functional dimensions in the micrometre range. Such pumps are of special interest in microfluidic research, and have become available for industrial product integration in recent years. Their miniaturized overall size, potential cost and improved dosing accuracy compared to existing miniature pumps fuel the growing interest for this innovative kind of pump.
• Micropumps can be grouped into mechanical and non-mechanical devices: Mechanical systems contain moving parts, which are usually actuation and valve membranes or flaps. The driving force can be generated by utilizing piezoelectric, electrostatic, thermo-pneumatic, pneumatic or magnetic effects. Non-mechanical pumps function with electro-hydrodynamic, electro-osmotic or ultrasonic flow generation.Source

Micropump Source

Microneedles

• Microneedles were first developed as a method for transdermal drug delivery . The microneedles

are long enough to penetrate the stratum corneum, which often acts as the primary barrier to drug transport across the skin, but are short enough to avoid the nerves located in the dermis, potentially offering a painless method for drug delivery.

• The microneedles can be divided into "In-Plane" and "Out of plane" microneedle based o fabrication methods and as "Hollow" and "Solid" Microneedles based on their physical aspects.

Year wise IP activity

Year wise IP activity

Top Assignees

Top Assignees

Other assignees with one record

It can be inferred from the graph that out of the 78 ON target patents Biovalve Technologies Inc. is the Top Assignee in the Smart drug delivery system based on MEMS/NEMS

Patent Distribution

Patent Distribution

Microneedle Patent category Distribution

On target records

• ON Target Analysis

Off target records

• OFF-target records