Reaction device controlled by RF control signal

• US 20070106275A1
• Filed: 11/09/2005
• Published: 05/10/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Gearbox LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Searete LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Langer, Robert, Jung, Edward, Hood, Leroy, Tegreene, Clarence, Wood, Lowell, Ishikawa, Muriel, Wood, Victoria
• Application Number:
  US11/271,146
• Publication Number:
  US 20070106275A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 604/891.100
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 41/00 Medicinal preparations obtained by treating materials with wave energy or particle radiation ; Therapies using these preparations
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 9/0009 involving or responsive to electricity, magnetism or acoustic waves; Galenical aspects of sonophoresis, iontophoresis, electroporation or electroosmosis microelectromechanical systems A61K9/0097
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 9/0024 Solid, semi-solid or solidifying implants, which are implanted or injected in body tissue compositions for intravenous administration, normal injectable solutions or dispersions for, e.g. subcutaneous administration A61K9/0019; brain implants A61K9/0085; (coated) prostheses, catheters or stents A61L
• CPC Class Codes: A61K 9/0097 Micromachined devices; Microelectromechanical systems [MEMS]; Devices obtained by lithographic treatment of silicon; Devices comprising chips intradermal microneedle arrays A61K9/0021; MEMS in general B81B7/02
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2005/14513 with secondary fluid driving or regulating the infusion
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/0266 Shape memory materials
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/0288 Electro-rheological or magneto-rheological materials
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3523 using telemetric means
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/3569 sublocal, e.g. between console and disposable
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/36 related to heating or cooling
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2205/52 with memories providing a history of measured variating parameters of apparatus or patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/14276 specially adapted for implantation
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/145 using pressurised reservoirs, e.g. pressurised by means of pistons
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/172 electrical or electronic A61M5/16804, A61M5/16831 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/1723 using feedback of body parameters, e.g. blood-sugar, pressure measurement of body parameters A61B5/00
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 19/0006 Controlling or regulating processes controlling or regulating in general G05
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 2219/00049 Controlling or regulating processes
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/008 Control or steering systems not provided for elsewhere in subclass C02F
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/02 by heating methods of steam generation F22B; preheating boiler feed-water or accumulating preheated boiler feed-water F22D
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/66 by neutralisation; pH adjustment for degassing C02F1/20; using ion-exchange C02F1/42; for flocculation or precipitation of suspended impurities C02F1/52; for removing dissolved compounds C02F1/58
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2101/20 : Heavy metals or heavy metal compounds
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2101/363 : PCB's; PCP's
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2209/02 : Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 9/0004 : Oxidoreductases (1.)
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 9/0006 : acting on CH-OH groups as donors (1.1)
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 9/10 : Transferases (2.) ribonucleases C12N9/22
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 9/12 : transferring phosphorus containing groups, e.g. kinases (2.7)
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 9/14 : Hydrolases (3)
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 9/88 : Lyases (4.)
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 9/90 : Isomerases (5.)
• CPC Class Codes: C12N 9/93 : Ligases (6)
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 : using a radio link

Abstract

Embodiments of a system including a remotely controlled reaction device and associated controller are described. Methods of use and control of the device are also disclosed. According to various embodiments, a reaction device is placed in an environment in order to perform a chemical reaction in an environment. Exemplary environments include a body of an organism, a body of water, or an enclosed volume of a fluid. In selected embodiments, a magnetic field, an electric field, or electromagnetic control signal may be used.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a body structure adapted for positioning in an environment;

a reaction region located in or on the body structure including a first material capable of influencing a chemical reaction; and

a remotely activatable control element operably coupled to the body structure and responsive to a radio-frequency electromagnetic field control signal to modify one or more of the rate or kinetics of the chemical reaction.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the remotely activatable control element responds to the control signal by changing in at least one dimension.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the remotely activatable control element includes a polymer and a magnetically or electrically active component.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the magnetically or electrically active component is heatable by the incident electromagnetic control signal, and wherein heating of the magnetically or electrically active component causes the polymer to undergo a change in configuration that modifies the influence of the first material on the chemical reaction.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein the remotely activatable control element responds to the control signal by producing heating or cooling.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein the remotely activatable control element includes a valve element or a structural element.

68. The system of claim 1, wherein the remotely activatable control element modifies one or more of the rate or reaction kinetics of the chemical reaction by modifying the influence of the first material on the chemical reaction or modifies the rate of exposure of a reactant capable of participating in the chemical reaction to the first material.

69. The system of claim 1, wherein the remotely activatable control element includes at least one polymer, ceramic, dielectric, metal, shape memory material, shape memory polymer, shape memory metal, bimetallic structure, hydrogel, ferrogel, ferroelectric, magnetically active material, electrically active material, permanently magnetizable material, ferromagnetic material, ferrimagnetic material, ferrous material, ferric material, ferroelectric material, piezoelectric material, diamagnetic material, paramagnetic material, or antiferromagnetic material.

70. The system of claim 4, wherein additional portions of the reaction region are exposed, a surface area of the reaction region is increased, or a volume containing the reaction region within the interior portion of the body structure is increased, responsive to the change in at least one dimension of the remotely activatable control element.

71. The system of claim 1, including at least one of an outlet through which a product of the chemical reaction is released into the environment or an inlet through which a second material capable of participating in the chemical reaction enters the reaction region.

72. The system of claim 1, wherein the first material is at least one of a reactant that is modified by participation in the chemical reaction, substantially non-reactant material that modifies at least one condition at which the reaction occurs, or a catalyst that facilitates the chemical reaction but is not significantly modified by the chemical reaction.

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30. A remote controller for a reaction system, comprising:

an electromagnetic signal generator capable of producing a radio frequency electromagnetic signal configured to be received by a remotely activatable control element of a reaction device located in an environment and to activate the remotely activatable control element to produce a desired rate of a chemical reaction in the reaction device; and

an electromagnetic signal transmitter capable of transmitting the radio frequency electromagnetic signal to the remotely activatable control element.

33. The remote controller of claim 30, wherein the electromagnetic signal is produced at least in part according to a pre-programmed pattern.

42. The remote controller of claim 30, including a signal input adapted for receiving a feedback signal from the environment, wherein the electromagnetic signal is determined based at least in part upon the feedback signal.

46. The remote controller of claim 30, including a signal input adapted for receiving a feedback signal from the reaction device, wherein the electromagnetic signal is determined based at least in part upon the feedback signal.

47. The remote controller of claim 30, wherein the electromagnetic signal is produced based at least in part upon a predetermined activation pattern.

48. The remote controller of claim 47, including a memory capable of storing the pre-determined activation pattern.

49. The remote controller of claim 30, wherein the electromagnetic signal is produced based on a model-based calculation.

50. The remote controller of claim 49, including a memory capable of storing model parameters used in the model-based calculation.

53. The remote controller of claim 30, including software configured to control production of the radio frequency electromagnetic signal.

73. The remote controller of claim 30, wherein the electromagnetic signal generator includes at least one of electrical circuitry or a microprocessor.

74. The remote controller of claim 30, wherein the electromagnetic signal has signal characteristics sufficient to produce at least one of a change in dimension in the remotely activatable control element, a change in temperature of the remotely activatable control element, a change in shape of the remotely activatable control element, a change in volume of the remotely activatable control element, a change in surface area of the remotely activatable control element, or a change in orientation of the remotely activatable control element.

75. The remote controller of claim 30, wherein the electromagnetic signal has signal characteristics sufficient to produce a change in shape in a remotely activatable control element including at least one of a shape memory material, a bimetallic structure, or a polymeric material.

76. The remote controller of claim 42, wherein the feedback signal corresponds to at least one of the concentration or activity of a chemical in the environment, the osmolality of the environment, the pH of the environment, the temperature of the environment, or the pressure of the environment.

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54. A method of controlling a reaction device, comprising:

generating a radio frequency electromagnetic control signal including frequency components absorbable by a magnetically or electrically responsive control element of the reaction device in an environment; and

remotely transmitting the radio frequency electromagnetic control signal to the reaction device in the environment with signal characteristics sufficient to activate the magnetically or electrically responsive control element in the reaction device to control a chemical reaction occurring at a reaction region of the reaction device.

55. The method of claim 54, including generating and transmitting the radio frequency electromagnetic control signal to the reaction device with a remote control signal source.

58. The method of claim 54, including:

receiving a feedback signal from the environment; and

based upon the feedback signal, generating a radio frequency electromagnetic control signal having waveform characteristics such as frequency composition and amplitude that are expected to produce a desired feedback signal.

62. The method of claim 54, including:

receiving a feedback signal from the reaction device; and

based upon the feedback signal, generating a radio frequency electromagnetic control signal having waveform characteristics such as frequency composition and amplitude that are expected to produce a desired feedback signal.

64. The method of claim 54, including:

receiving user input of one or more control parameters; and

based upon the one or more control parameters, generating a radio frequency electromagnetic control signal having waveform characteristics such as frequency composition and amplitude that are expected to produce a desired rate of reaction in the reaction device.

67. The method of claim 54, wherein the steps of generating a radio frequency electromagnetic control signal and remotely transmitting the radio frequency electromagnetic control signal to the reaction device are performed according to instructions provided in the form of software, hardware or firmware.

77. The method of claim 54, including at least one of generating the radio frequency electromagnetic control signal from a model-based calculation or generating the radio frequency electromagnetic control signal based on a stored pattern.

78. The method of claim 58, wherein receiving a feedback signal from the environment includes receiving a measure of osmolality, pH within, temperature, pressure, or concentration or activity of a chemical, within at least a portion of the environment.

79. The method of claim 54, including activating the magnetically or electrically responsive control element to produce heating, cooling, or a change in configuration of the magnetically or electrically responsive control element.

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