Device, system, and method for targeted delivery of anti-inflammatory medicaments to a mammalian subject

• US 8,439,896 B2
• Filed: 11/13/2009
• Issued: 05/14/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gearbox LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: The Invention Science Fund I, L.L.C. (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Eckhoff, Philip A., Hyde, Roderick A., Ishikawa, Muriel Y., Kare, Jordin T., Leuthardt, Eric C., Rivet, Dennis J., Sweeney, Elizabeth A., Wood, Lowell L. Jr., Wood, Victoria Y. H.
• Primary Examiner(s): SCHMIDT, EMILY LOUISE
• Application Number:
  US12/590,857
• Publication Number:
  US 20110118560A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,278 Days
• Field of Search: 604/20, 604/22, 604/890.1, 604/891.1, 604/116, 604 65- 67, 604/503
• US Class Current: 604/890.1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/01 Measuring temperature of body parts ; Diagnostic temperature sensing, e.g. for malignant or inflamed tissue clinical contact thermometers G01K13/20
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1116 Determining posture transitions
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1118 Determining activity level
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/112 Gait analysis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1126 using a particular sensing technique
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/441 Skin evaluation, e.g. for skin disorder diagnosis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4528 Joints A61B5/4533, A61B5/4538 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4866 Evaluating metabolism A61B5/083 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6843 Monitoring or controlling sensor contact pressure
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/505 for diagnosis of bone
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/0875 for diagnosis of bone A61B5/4504 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4472 Wireless probes
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2005/3022 Worn on the body, e.g. as patches pressure infusion of the skin patch type A61M5/14248
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2037/0023 Drug applicators using microneedles
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2037/0061 Methods for using microneedles
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 37/0015 by using microneedles
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 5/14248 of the skin patch type

Abstract

A device, a system, or a method is described for treating a disease or a condition of one or more joints of articulating bone in a mammalian subject. The device provides one or more medicaments to one or more joints of the mammalian subject. A device is described that includes an enclosure including one or more sensors, a controller, and one or more applicators configured to surround one or more joints of articulating bone of a mammalian subject, wherein the one or more sensors are configured to detect one or more physiological conditions of the one or more joints of the mammalian subject, and the controller, configured to communicate with the one or more sensors, is configured to activate the one or more applicators, and wherein the one or more applicators are configured to inject one or more medicaments to one or more joint tissues of the mammalian subject.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

an enclosure including one or more sensors, a controller, and one or more applicators configured to surround one or more joints of articulating bone of a mammalian subject;

wherein,

the one or more sensors are configured to detect one or more physiological conditions of the one or more joints of the mammalian subject,

the controller is configured to communicate with the one or more sensors, and further configured to position the one or more applicators near the one or more joints detected by the one or more sensors as exhibiting the one or more physiological conditions and configured to activate the one or more applicators, and

the one or more applicators are configured to inject one or more medicaments to one or more joint tissues of the mammalian subject.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors are configured to detect the one or more physiological conditions of the one or more joints by ultrasonic imaging of the one or more joints.

3. The device of claim 2, further including a liquid configured between an ultrasonic transducer and the one or more joints for the ultrasonic imaging of the one or more joints of the mammalian subject.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors are configured to detect the one or more physiological conditions of the one or more joints by X-ray imaging of the one or more joints.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more applicators includes one or more high speed microjets, one or more microneedles, one or more microfine lances, one or more microfine cannulas, one or more microprojections, or one or more electrodes.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein the one or more applicators includes one or more high speed microjets.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein the one or more applicators further includes one or more microneedles, one or more microfine lances, or one or more microfine cannulas.

8. The device of claim 5, wherein the one or more applicators includes electrodes on microprojections configured to apply electrical energy to skin of the mammalian subject.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein the electrodes on microprojections provide ablation of stratum corneum in an area beneath the electrodes thereby generating a plurality of hydrophilic microchannels in the skin of the mammalian subject.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more applicators are configured to respond to the one or more sensors, wherein the one or more applicators are configured to inject the one or more medicaments to the one or more joint tissues of the mammalian subject.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors are configured to detect movement of the one or more body contours.

12. The device of claim 11, wherein the one or more sensors are configured to monitor joint movement, body movement, or gait of the mammalian subject.

13. The device of claim 11, wherein the one or more sensors are configured to monitor posture of the mammalian subject.

14. The device of claim 11, wherein the one or more sensors are configured to monitor frequency of joint use or level of effort used by the one or more joints.

15. The device of claim 14, wherein level of effort used by the one or more joints includes measured effort or inferred effort.

16. The device of claim 11, wherein the one or more sensors are configured to monitor a preselected set of activity profiles.

17. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors are configured to detect tissue swelling, tissue pressure, tissue color, tissue temperature, environmental temperature, electrical property of tissue, optical property of tissue, perspiration, or presence of an analyte.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein the analyte includes an inflammatory marker, antibody, or cytokine.

19. The device of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to control release of the one or more medicaments from the one or more applicators.

20. The device of claim 19, wherein the controller is configured to control a timed-release dosage of the one or more medicaments.

21. The device of claim 19, wherein the controller is configured to report quantity and frequency of dosage of the one or more medicaments.

22. The device of claim 19, wherein the controller is configured to control a maximum dosage of the one or more medicaments for a time period.

23. The device of claim 19, wherein the controller is configured to activate the one or more applicators based at least in part on an activity history of the mammalian subject.

24. The device of claim 23, wherein the activity history includes joint movement or gait of the mammalian subject.

25. The device of claim 23, wherein the activity history includes frequency of use of the one or more joints, measured effort level of the one or more joints, inferred effort level of the one or more joints, or a preselected activity profile.

26. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors are configured to detect one or more conditions at one or more of the one or more joints and the controller is configured to control release of the one or more medicaments at others of the one or more joints of the mammalian subject.

27. The device of claim 26, wherein the one or more sensors are configured to detect one or more physiological conditions of the mammalian subject other than a physiological condition of the joints.

28. The device of claim 26, wherein the one or more sensors are configured to detect movement of the one or more body contours.

29. The device of claim 1, further including a pharmaceutical composition including the one or more medicaments in a thixotropic medium.

30. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more applicators include one or more high speed microjets.

31. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more applicators include a fluid displacement actuator configured as one or more piezoelectric actuators, one or more springs, one or more magnets, one or more motors, or one or more compressed gas actuators.

32. The device of claim 1, wherein the high speed microjets are nanoliter-volume pulsed microjets.

33. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more joint tissues includes one or more of a fibrous capsule, subsynovium, synovial membrane, synovium, joint cavity, synovial fluid, articular cartilage, subchondral bone, or ligament.

34. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more joints includes a synovial joint, cartilaginous joint, or fibrous joint.

35. The device of claim 1, further including a power source.

36. The device of claim 35, wherein the power source includes a motion-activated generator, solar cell, fuel cell, wireless source, battery, microbattery, or wired source.

37. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more applicators further includes tissue permeabilization components including one or more of electronics, ultrasonics, chemical permeation enhancer, iontophoresis, microdialysis, ultrafiltration, electromagnetic, electroosmosis, sonophoresis, microdialysis, suction, electroporation, thermal poration, microporation, heating component, or laser.

38. The device of claim 5, further including a component for transient mechanical/electrical acceleration of the one or more medicaments from the high speed microjets.

39. The device of claim 38, wherein the component for transient mechanical/electrical acceleration includes a fluid displacement actuator configured as one or more piezoelectric actuators, one or more springs, one or more solenoids, one or more magnets, one or more motors, or one or more compressed gas actuators.

40. The device of claim 38, wherein the component for mechanical/electrical acceleration applies concentration gradients of the one or more medicaments in a time-dependent manner.

41. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more medicaments includes steroids, corticosteroids, analgesics, COX-2 inhibitors, or NSAID.

42. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more applicators is configured to apply the one or more medicaments in a time-dependent manner.

43. The device of claim 42, wherein the one or more applicators is configured to apply the one or more medicaments in concentration gradients in the time-dependent manner.

44. A system comprising:

at least one apparatus including,

an enclosure including one or more sensors, a controller, and one or more applicators distributed in one or more patterns on the enclosure configured to surround one or more joints of articulating bone of a mammalian subject;

wherein,

the one or more sensors are configured to detect one or more physiological conditions of the one or more joints of the mammalian subject,

the controller is configured to communicate with the one or more sensors, and further configured to position the one or more applicators near the one or more joints detected by the one or more sensors as exhibiting the one or more physiological conditions and configured to activate the one or more applicators responsive to the communication with the one or more sensors, and

the one or more applicators are configured to inject one or more medicaments to one or more joint tissues of the mammalian subject.

45. The system of claim 44, wherein the one or more applicators includes one or more high speed microjets, one or more microneedles, one or more microfine lances, one or more microfine cannulas, one or more microprojections, or one or more electrodes.

46. The system of claim 44, wherein the one or more sensors are further configured to detect movement of the one or more body contours.