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 10 mA, at a frequency of between 10 Hz and 100 Hz, and with a pulse duration of between about 0.5 milliseconds and about 3 milliseconds.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus (30) for drug administration is provided, including an ingestible capsule (32), which includes a drug (36), stored by the capsule (32), and an environmentally-sensitive mechanism (18), adapted to change a state thereof responsively to a disposition of the capsule (32) within a gastrointestinal (GI) tract (50) of a subject. The capsule (32) further includes first and second electrodes (16), and a control component (14), adapted to facilitate passage of the drug (36), in response to a change of state of the environmentally-sensitive mechanism (18), through an epithelial layer of the GI tract (50) by driving the first and second electrodes (16) to apply a series of pulses at a current of less than about 10 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. Other embodiments are also described.
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Citations
225 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 10 mA, at a frequency of between 10 Hz and 100 Hz, and with a pulse duration of between about 0.5 milliseconds and about 3 milliseconds. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 19, 22, 23, 30, 31, 71, 72, 73, 74, 76, 77, 79, 80, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 93, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 107, 212, 220)
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2-3. -3. (canceled)
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14-18. -18. (canceled)
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20-21. -21. (canceled)
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24-29. -29. (canceled)
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32-40. -40. (canceled)
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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 10 mA, at a frequency of between 10 Hz and 100 Hz, and with a pulse duration of between about 0.5 milliseconds and about 3 milliseconds.
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42-57. -57. (canceled)
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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 10 mA, at a frequency of between 10 Hz and 100 Hz, and with a pulse duration of between about 0.5 milliseconds and about 3 milliseconds.
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59-70. -70. (canceled)
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75. (canceled)
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78. (canceled)
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81. (canceled)
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87-92. -92. (canceled)
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94. (canceled)
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101-106. -106. (canceled)
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108. (canceled)
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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 10 mA, at a frequency of between 10 Hz and 100 Hz and with a pulse duration of between about 0.5 milliseconds and about 3 milliseconds. - View Dependent Claims (114, 116, 224)
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110-113. -113. (canceled)
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115. (canceled)
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117-200. -200. (canceled)
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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 10 mA, at a frequency of between 10 Hz and 100 Hz, and with a pulse duration of between about 0.5 milliseconds and about 3 milliseconds. - View Dependent Claims (204, 208)
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202-203. -203. (canceled)
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205-207. -207. (canceled)
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209-211. -211. (canceled)
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213-219. -219. (canceled)
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221-223. -223. (canceled)
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225-241. -241. (canceled)
Specification