MEDICAL DEVICES FOR THERAPEUTIC AGENT DELIVERY
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A medical device comprising a substrate and a barrier layer, said substrate and said barrier layer at least partially defining an enclosed reservoir, said medical device further comprising a therapeutic agent and a crosslinked hydrophilic polymer disposed within the reservoir, wherein the reservoir is permeable to water such that, when the medical device is implanted in a patient, aqueous fluid enters the reservoir and swells the crosslinked hydrophilic polymer to a point where the barrier is burst.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
In various aspects, the present invention relates to implantable or insertable medical devices which release therapeutic agent into the body of a patient.
-
Citations
19 Claims
- 1. A medical device comprising a substrate and a barrier layer, said substrate and said barrier layer at least partially defining an enclosed reservoir, said medical device further comprising a therapeutic agent and a crosslinked hydrophilic polymer disposed within the reservoir, wherein the reservoir is permeable to water such that, when the medical device is implanted in a patient, aqueous fluid enters the reservoir and swells the crosslinked hydrophilic polymer to a point where the barrier is burst.
- 9. A medical device comprising an enclosed reservoir that contains a therapeutic agent, wherein a release of the therapeutic agent from the reservoir into surrounding aqueous fluid is increased upon exposure to light, relative to the release that would otherwise occur in the absence of said exposure.
- 17. A medical device comprising a substrate and a barrier layer, said substrate and said barrier layer at least partially defining an enclosed reservoir, said medical device further comprising a therapeutic agent and a vaporizable liquid within the reservoir, wherein the vaporizable liquid is adjacent to a conductive material that can be heated to vaporize the vaporizable liquid and break the barrier layer by subjecting the conductive material to a magnetic field of suitable frequency and intensity.
Specification