Implantable drug delivery systems and methods
First Claim
1. A drug delivery system comprising:
- an implantable pump assembly;
two or more implantable reservoirs operably connected to the implantable pump assembly;
a catheter connection port adapted to attach a catheter to the drug delivery system;
a reservoir switching valve assembly between the two or more implantable reservoirs and the catheter connection port via the reservoir valve switching assembly, wherein the two or more implantable reservoirs can be selectively connected to the catheter connection port, and wherein two reservoirs of the two or more reservoirs contain fluids having different densities;
an implantable density sensor configured to sense density of cerebrospinal fluid of a patient in which the sensor is implanted; and
a controller operably coupled to the reservoir switching valve assembly and to the implantable density sensor,wherein the controller is configured to cause the reservoir switching valve assembly to alternate between (i) selectively coupling one or more of the two or more reservoirs to the catheter connection port to cause a fluid that is hypobaric relative to the density of the cerebrospinal fluid to be delivered to the catheter connection port, and (ii) selectively coupling a different one or more of the two or more reservoirs to the catheter connection port to cause a fluid that is hyperbaric relative to the density of the cerebrospinal fluid to be delivered to the catheter connection port.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Devices, systems and methods for delivering one or more drugs to one or more internal body locations (such as the cerebrospinal fluid) are disclosed. In various aspects, the systems and methods may involve catheters having infusion sections with permeable membranes that develop significant back pressure to enhance uniform delivery of the drug over an infusion section; catheters that have two or more infusion sections spaced apart along the length of the same catheter, catheters that include two or more infusion sections serviced by independent lumens (such that, e.g., different drug solutions can be delivered to the different infusion sections); implantable drug delivery systems with pumps and multiple reservoirs from which drugs can be delivered; systems that are capable of delivering drug solutions with selected densities; etc.
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Citations
58 Claims
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1. A drug delivery system comprising:
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an implantable pump assembly; two or more implantable reservoirs operably connected to the implantable pump assembly; a catheter connection port adapted to attach a catheter to the drug delivery system; a reservoir switching valve assembly between the two or more implantable reservoirs and the catheter connection port via the reservoir valve switching assembly, wherein the two or more implantable reservoirs can be selectively connected to the catheter connection port, and wherein two reservoirs of the two or more reservoirs contain fluids having different densities; an implantable density sensor configured to sense density of cerebrospinal fluid of a patient in which the sensor is implanted; and a controller operably coupled to the reservoir switching valve assembly and to the implantable density sensor, wherein the controller is configured to cause the reservoir switching valve assembly to alternate between (i) selectively coupling one or more of the two or more reservoirs to the catheter connection port to cause a fluid that is hypobaric relative to the density of the cerebrospinal fluid to be delivered to the catheter connection port, and (ii) selectively coupling a different one or more of the two or more reservoirs to the catheter connection port to cause a fluid that is hyperbaric relative to the density of the cerebrospinal fluid to be delivered to the catheter connection port. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 33, 34, 35)
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23. A method of delivering one or more drugs to at least one internal body location using a drug delivery system implanted in the body of a patient, wherein the drug delivery apparatus comprises an implantable pump assembly, two or more implantable reservoirs operably connected to the implantable pump assembly, a catheter connection port adapted to attach a catheter to the drug delivery system, and a reservoir switching valve assembly between the two or more implantable reservoirs and the catheter connection port, wherein two reservoirs of the two or more reservoirs contain fluids having different densities, the method comprising:
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measuring density of the cerebrospinal fluid of a patient using an implanted density sensor; and alternating between (i) selectively connecting one or more of the two or more implantable reservoirs to the catheter connection port to obtain a fluid that is hypobaric relative to the measured density of the cerebrospinal fluid; and
delivering the hypobaric fluid from the one or more reservoir of the two or more implantable reservoirs to the catheter connection port using the implantable pump assembly;
(ii) selectively connecting another one or more of the two or more implantable reservoirs to the catheter connection port to obtain a fluid that is hyperbaric relative to the measured density of the cerebrospinal fluid; and
delivering the hyperbaric fluid from the one or more reservoir of the two or more implantable reservoirs to the catheter connection port using the implantable pump assembly. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 36, 37, 38)
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39. An implantable drug delivery system comprising:
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an implantable pump assembly; an implantable density sensor configured to measure density of cerebrospinal fluid of a patient in which the sensor is implanted; two or more implantable reservoirs operably connected to the implantable pump assembly, wherein the two or more reservoirs are configured to contain fluids of differing densities such that (i) selection of fluids from a first of one or more of the two or more reservoirs results in a fluid that is hypobaric relative to the density of the cerebrospinal fluid, and (ii) selection of fluids from a second of one or more of the two or more reservoirs results in a fluid that is hyperbaric relative to the density of the cerebrospinal fluid; a catheter connection port adapted to attach a catheter to the drug delivery system; a reservoir switching valve assembly between the two or more implantable reservoirs and the catheter connection port, wherein the two or more implantable reservoirs can be selectively connected to the catheter connection port such that delivery of the hypobaric fluid resulting from selection of the first of the one or more reservoirs is configured to alternate with delivery of the hyperbaric fluid resulting from selection of the second of the one or more reservoirs. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51)
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52. A method of delivering one or more drugs to at least one internal body location using a drug delivery system implanted in the body of a patient, wherein the drug delivery apparatus comprises an implantable pump assembly, two or more implantable reservoirs operably connected to the implantable pump assembly, a catheter connection port adapted to attach a catheter to the drug delivery system, and a reservoir switching valve assembly between the two or more implantable reservoirs and the catheter connection port, the method comprising:
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alternating between; (i) selectively connecting one or more of the two or more implantable reservoirs to the catheter connection port to obtain a fluid that is configured to be hypobaric relative to the density of cerebrospinal fluid, and delivering the hypobaric fluid from the one or more reservoir of the two or more implantable reservoirs to the catheter connection port using the implantable pump assembly; and (ii) selectively connecting another one or more of the two or more implantable reservoirs to the catheter connection port to obtain a fluid that is configured to be hyperbaric relative to the density of the cerebrospinal fluid; and
delivering the hyperbaric fluid from the one or more reservoir of the two or more implantable reservoirs to the catheter connection port using the implantable pump assembly. - View Dependent Claims (53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58)
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Specification