The State University of New York

Lorant Kovacs

Nandor Ludvig

Laszlo Kando

Geza Medveczky

A minivalve for delivering one of a control solution or a drug solution to a point of interest in a freely moving animal. The minivalve is portable by the freely moving animal, such as a mouse, rat, or primate, on its head without interfering with its behavior. The minivalve having an input for a control solution and an input for a drug solution and further having a common output for outputting either of the control solution or drug solution to an input of a microdialysis probe implanted at a point of interest in the animal. Also provided are systems for delivering one of a control solution or a drug solution to a point of interest in the animal. The system comprises the minivalve, a drug ejection device such as a microdialysis probe or injection cannula implanted at the point of interest in the small animal, and a microelectrode placed adjacent to the drug ejection device. The minivalve is designed to be easily modified to be actuated with a gas or liquid, to be used in larger animals and in humans, to be mounted on body parts other than the head, to be used for drug delivery into other body organs than the brain, and to be integrated into various industrial/scientific instruments.

Miniature air-controlled drug selector and delivery device portable by small animals

A miniature apparatus for the treatment of brain disorders is provided which is a combination of electronic and pharmacological devices placed and powered entirely within the human body. The apparatus is based on the dual, electrical&mdash;molecular, nature of intercellular communication in the brain. The hybrid neuroprosthesis monitors the electrical activity of a dysfunctioning brain area, analyzes the incoming electrical signals, and delivers drug molecules into the dysfunctioning area to correct its function. The apparatus delivers drugs into the brain in such a way that the timing and duration of the drug deliveries are determined by the brain's own electrical activity. The hybrid neuroprosthesis includes (a) an electrophysiological recording electrode implanted in a dysfunctioning brain site, (b) a miniature electrical signal conditioner to amplify, filter and digitize the incoming electrophysiological signals, (c) a cannula or catheter implanted in the dysfunctioning brain site, (d) a miniature, refillable pump for driving drug solutions through the cannula or catheter, (e) a microcontroller which analyzes on-line the digitized electrophysiological signals and either activates or inactivates the pump on the basis of the analyzed electrophysiological data, (f) a miniature radiotelemetry system which provides data transfer between the apparatus and the outside world, and (g) a rechargeable power supply to power the components of the apparatus. The recording electrode can be complemented with a neurochemical sensor to transmit not only electrophysiological but also neurochemical information from the dysfunctioning brain area to the microcontroller. The components of the apparatus are encapsulated in medical grade silicon.

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Mt. Kisco, NY, United States of America

Lorant Kovacs