An implantable micropump prototype for focal drug delivery

In this paper, we present a responsive drug delivery system (DDS) that is capable of directly injecting antiepileptic drugs at electrographic seizure onset. This may result in better controlling the epileptic seizures. This miniaturized prototype consists of a preamplifier, a seizure detector, a micro-pump unit and a wireless control module; however in this paper we will only focus on micropump prototype. The proposed micropump is composed of a deflectable membrane which is made of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). An electromagnetic method is used to actuate the PDMS membrane in a frequency of 143 Hz in order to provide a maximum flow rate of 2.9 ml/min. The experimental results demonstrate a high accuracy and low power dissipation suitable for implantable responsive drug delivery.