A general model for guiding the design of biomechatronic systems implantable into the brain

In the last few years mechatronic implantable drug delivery systems have been found to be suitable for a large variety of applications for the treatment of pathologies such as cancer, diabetes or neurological diseases. In particular, a large part of the aforementioned pathologies asks for direct drug delivery at brain level. Unfortunately, the field of biomechatronic systems fitted for a direct infusion of drugs into the brain is still in its infancy. In this paper, as a design starting point, we examine a conventional system for drug delivery against typical medical requirements for brain applications; then we try and define the architecture of a biomechatronic system for drug delivery into the cerebral compartment, taking into account the close interaction with the anatomical compartment and its physiological constraints. A model of the whole system is proposed, and some simulation results are given, together with a simple control strategy