Active drug delivery in the gastrointestinal tract
First Claim
1. Apparatus for drug administration, comprising an ingestible capsule, which comprises:
- a drug, stored by the capsule;
an environmentally-sensitive mechanism, adapted to change a state thereof responsively to a disposition of the capsule within a gastrointestinal (GI) tract of a subject;
first and second electrodes; and
a control component, adapted to facilitate passage of the drug, in response to a change of state of the environmentally-sensitive mechanism, through an epithelial layer of the GI tract by driving the first and second electrodes to apply a series of pulses at a current of less than about 5 mA, at a frequency of between about 12 Hz and about 24 Hz, and with a pulse duration of between about 0.5 milliseconds and about 3 milliseconds.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus for drug administration is provided, including an ingestible capsule, which includes a drug, stored by the capsule, and an environmentally-sensitive mechanism, adapted to change a state thereof responsively to a disposition of the capsule within a gastrointestinal (GI) tract of a subject. The capsule further includes first and second electrodes, and a control component, adapted to facilitate passage of the drug, in response to a change of state of the environmentally-sensitive mechanism, through an epithelial layer of the GI tract by driving the first and second electrodes to apply a series of pulses at a current of less than about 5 mA, at a frequency of between about 12 Hz and about 24 Hz, and with a pulse duration of between about 0.5 milliseconds and about 3 milliseconds.
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Citations
209 Claims
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1. Apparatus for drug administration, comprising an ingestible capsule, which comprises:
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a drug, stored by the capsule;
an environmentally-sensitive mechanism, adapted to change a state thereof responsively to a disposition of the capsule within a gastrointestinal (GI) tract of a subject;
first and second electrodes; and
a control component, adapted to facilitate passage of the drug, in response to a change of state of the environmentally-sensitive mechanism, through an epithelial layer of the GI tract by driving the first and second electrodes to apply a series of pulses at a current of less than about 5 mA, at a frequency of between about 12 Hz and about 24 Hz, and with a pulse duration of between about 0.5 milliseconds and about 3 milliseconds. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. Apparatus for administration of a drug, comprising an ingestible capsule adapted to store the drug, the capsule comprising:
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an environmentally-sensitive mechanism, adapted to change a state thereof responsively to a disposition of the capsule within a gastrointestinal (GI) tract of a subject;
first and second electrodes; and
a control component, adapted to facilitate passage of the drug, in response to a change of state of the environmentally-sensitive mechanism, through an epithelial layer of the GI tract by driving the first and second electrodes to apply a series of pulses at a current of less than about 5 mA, at a frequency of between about 12 Hz and about 24 Hz, and with a pulse duration of between about 0.5 milliseconds and about 3 milliseconds. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. Apparatus for facilitating administration of a drug contained in a pill, the apparatus comprising an ingestible housing, which is not adapted to contain the drug or to be assembled in an integral unit with the drug, the housing comprising:
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an ingestible environmentally-sensitive mechanism, adapted to change a state thereof responsive to a disposition thereof within a gastrointestinal (GI) tract of a subject;
first and second electrodes; and
a control component, adapted to facilitate passage of the drug, in response to a change of state of the environmentally-sensitive mechanism, through an epithelial layer of the GI tract by driving the first and second electrodes to apply a series of pulses at a current of less than about 5 mA, at a frequency of between about 12 Hz and about 24 Hz, and with a pulse duration of between about 0.5 milliseconds and about 3 milliseconds. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57)
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58. Apparatus for use with a drug pill, the apparatus comprising:
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a coupling mechanism, adapted to couple the drug pill to the apparatus;
first and second electrodes; and
a control component, adapted to facilitate passage of a drug contained in the drug pill through an epithelial layer of a gastrointestinal (GI) tract of a subject by driving the first and second electrodes to apply a series of pulses at a current of less than about 5 mA, at a frequency of between about 12 Hz and about 24 Hz, and with a pulse duration of between about 0.5 milliseconds and about 3 milliseconds. - View Dependent Claims (59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70)
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71. Apparatus for facilitating administration of a drug to a subject, the apparatus comprising:
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a sensor unit, which comprises;
a sensor, adapted to detect an indication of a concentration of a substance in a blood circulation of the subject; and
a wireless transmitter, adapted to wirelessly transmit the indication; and
an ingestible capsule, which comprises;
a wireless receiver, adapted to receive the indication;
first and second electrodes; and
a control component, adapted to facilitate passage of the drug through an epithelial layer of a gastrointestinal (GI) tract of the subject by driving the first and second electrodes to apply a series of pulses at a current of less than about 5 mA, at a frequency of between about 12 Hz and about 24 Hz, and with a pulse duration of between about 0.5 milliseconds and about 3 milliseconds. - View Dependent Claims (72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94)
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95. Apparatus for facilitating administration of a drug to a subject, the apparatus comprising:
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a sensor unit, which comprises;
a sensor, adapted to detect an indication of a physiological parameter of the subject; and
a wireless transmitter, adapted to wirelessly transmit the indication; and
an ingestible capsule, which comprises;
a wireless receiver, adapted to receive the indication;
first and second electrodes; and
a control component, adapted to facilitate passage of the drug through an epithelial layer of a gastrointestinal (GI) tract of the subject by driving the first and second electrodes to apply a series of pulses at a current of less than about 5 mA, at a frequency of between about 12 Hz and about 24 Hz, and with a pulse duration of between about 0.5 milliseconds and about 3 milliseconds. - View Dependent Claims (96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108)
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109. Apparatus for facilitating administration of a drug to a subject, the apparatus comprising:
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first and second electrodes; and
a control component, adapted to facilitate passage of the drug through an epithelial layer of a gastrointestinal (GI) tract of the subject by driving the first and second electrodes to apply a series of pulses at a current of less than about 5 mA, at a frequency of between about 12 Hz and about 24 Hz, and with a pulse duration of between about 0.5 milliseconds and about 3 milliseconds. - View Dependent Claims (110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117)
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118. A method for administration of a drug, comprising:
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administering to a subject an ingestible capsule that includes the drug;
detecting a disposition of the capsule within a gastrointestinal (GI) tract of the subject; and
in response to detecting the disposition, facilitating, by the capsule, passage of the drug through an epithelial layer of the GI tract, by applying a series of pulses at a current of less than about 5 mA, at a frequency of between about 12 Hz and about 24 Hz, and with a pulse duration of between about 0.5 milliseconds and about 3 milliseconds. - View Dependent Claims (119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135)
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136. A method for administration of a drug contained in a pill, comprising:
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orally administering the pill to a subject;
orally administering to the subject an ingestible capsule that does not include the drug;
detecting a target location of the capsule within a gastrointestinal (GI) tract of the subject; and
in response to detecting the target location, facilitating, by the capsule, passage of the drug through an epithelial layer of the GI tract, by applying a series of pulses at a current of less than about 5 mA, at a frequency of between about 12 Hz and about 24 Hz, and with a pulse duration of between about 0.5 milliseconds and about 3 milliseconds. - View Dependent Claims (137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147)
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148. A method for administration of a drug, comprising:
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coupling, to an ingestible capsule, a drug pill containing the drug;
administering the capsule to a subject;
detecting a target location of the capsule within a gastrointestinal (GI) tract of the subject; and
in response to detecting the target location, facilitating, by the capsule, passage of the drug through an epithelial layer of the GI tract, by applying a series of pulses at a current of less than about 5 mA, at a frequency of between about 12 Hz and about 24 Hz, and with a pulse duration of between about 0.5 milliseconds and about 3 milliseconds. - View Dependent Claims (149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160)
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161. A method for facilitating administration of a drug to a subject, the method comprising:
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administering an ingestible capsule to the subject;
detecting an indication of a concentration of a substance in a blood circulation of the subject;
wirelessly transmitting the indication;
receiving the indication at the ingestible capsule; and
responsively to the received indication, facilitating, by the capsule, passage of the drug through an epithelial layer of a gastrointestinal (GI) tract of the subject, by applying a series of pulses at a current of less than about 5 mA, at a frequency of between about 12 Hz and about 24 Hz, and with a pulse duration of between about 0.5 milliseconds and about 3 milliseconds. - View Dependent Claims (162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184)
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185. A method for facilitating administration of a drug to a subject, the method comprising:
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administering an ingestible capsule to the subject;
detecting an indication of a physiological parameter of the subject;
wirelessly transmitting the indication;
receiving the indication at the ingestible capsule; and
responsively to the received indication, facilitating, by the capsule, passage of the drug through an epithelial layer of a gastrointestinal (GI) tract of the subject, by applying a series of pulses at a current of less than about 5 mA, at a frequency of between about 12 Hz and about 24 Hz, and with a pulse duration of between about 0.5 milliseconds and about 3 milliseconds. - View Dependent Claims (186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 200)
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201. A method for administration of a drug, comprising:
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administering the drug to a gastrointestinal (GI) tract of a subject; and
facilitating passage of the drug through an epithelial layer of the GI tract by applying a series of pulses at a current of less than about 5 mA, at a frequency of between about 12 Hz and about 24 Hz, and with a pulse duration of between about 0.5 milliseconds and about 3 milliseconds. - View Dependent Claims (202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209)
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Specification