PROJECT TITLE :

A Swallowable Smart Pill for Local Drug Delivery

ABSTRACT:

During this paper, a sensible pill for local drug delivery is presented. The pill is designed to achieve local therapy on gastrointestinal tissue thanks to a novel drug delivery system (DDS). The DDS consists of a miniature electrolytic pump. This microfabricated pump is ideal for medical applications as a result of of its low power consumption, compatibility with little size batteries, integrability on miniaturized systems, and biocompatibility. The actuation principle of the micropump depends on the electrolysis of a water-primarily based solution, that is separated from a drug reservoir by an elastic membrane. The electrolytically created gases pressurize the electrolytic solution reservoir, inflicting the deflection of the elastic membrane. Such deflection, in flip, forces the drug out of its reservoir through a nozzle. So as to live and monitor the membrane displacement, and so the amount of drug ejected, a strain gauge sensor has been prepared using a conductive thermoplastic nanocomposite elastomer (CTPE). The sensor is mounted on the deformable membrane. The CTPE shows high sensitivity and allows to customise the resistance of the device to get low power consumption. Thus, by measuring the current though the electrolytic cell and monitoring membrane deformation, the volume of the ejected drug can be controlled.