An inner-ear drug delivery platform with fully integrated control, actuation, and fluidics hardware

Here we report on advances toward a miniaturized, fully-integrated intracochlear drug-delivery micropump and controller. Our device is designed to be worn as a head mount for guinea-pig animal models (with the ultimate goal of generating an implantable device for humans) that delivers liquid-solubilized drug through a cannula to the inner ear. Our completed platform will have infuse-withdraw capabilities, and an integrated drug reservoir. Here we present experimental data demonstrating the performance of a simplified version of the device, which has no drug reservoir and is operated only in infusion mode (though it is capable of withdrawing fluid as well). We show that our device successfully delivers the desired infusion profile in a guinea pig model.