2023-08-31 22:10:00
A research team has detailed a breakthrough in medical device technology that might lead to smart, sustainable and personalized treatments for patients through soft robotics and artificial intelligence.
The transatlantic partnership has created a smart implantable device that can deliver a drug – while sensing when it’s starting to release – and use AI to change the shape of the device to maintain the drug’s dosage and simultaneously bypass the accumulation of scar tissue.
The promise of implantable medical devices
Implantable medical device technologies offer the promise of unlocking advanced therapeutic interventions in healthcare, such as the release of insulin to treat diabetes, but a major issue holding back these devices is the patient’s reaction to a foreign body.
Dr. Rachel Beatty, of theUniversity of Galwayand co-lead author of the study, explained: “The technology we have developed, using soft robotics, advances the potential for implantable devices to be in a patient’s body for long periods of time, providing long-lasting therapeutic action. Imagine a therapeutic implant that can also sense its environment and respond accordingly using AI – this approach might drive game-changing changes in implantable drug delivery for various chronic conditions.”
Flexible devices enhanced by artificial intelligence
The University of Galway and MIT research team originally developed the first flexible devices, known as soft robotic implants, to improve drug delivery and reduce fibrosis. Despite this success, the team sees the technology as unique because it did not take into account how patients react and respond differently, or the progressive nature of fibrosis, where scar tissue develops around the device, l ‘encapsulating, hindering and blocking his goal, ultimately forcing him to fail.
The latest research, published in Science Roboticsshows how they have dramatically advanced the technology – using AI – making it responsive to the environment of the implant with the potential to be more durable by defending once morest the body’s natural tendency to reject a foreign body .
Dr Beatty added: “I wanted to tailor drug delivery to individuals, but first I had to create a method to detect the foreign body response.”
A device capable of adapting to the immune reaction
The research team deployed a still-nascent technique to help reduce scar tissue formation known as mechanotherapy, where gentle robotic implants perform regular movements in the body, such as inflating and deflating. Timed, repetitive, or varied movements help prevent scar tissue from forming.
Key to the advanced technology in the implantable device is a conductive porous membrane that can sense when pores are blocked by scar tissue. It detects blockages when cells and materials produced by cells block electrical signals passing through the membrane.
The researchers measured electrical impedance and scar tissue formation on the membrane, finding a correlation. A machine learning algorithm was also developed and deployed to predict the required number and force of actuations to achieve consistent drug dosing, regardless of the level of fibrosis present. Using computer simulations, the researchers also explored the device’s potential to release a drug over time with a capsule fibrotique surrounding of different thicknesses.
Research has shown that changing the force and the number of times the device is forced to move or change shape allows the device to release more medication, helping to bypass scar tissue buildup.
The position of researchers on this subject
Professor Ellen Roche, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT, said: “If we can detect how the individual’s immune system responds to an implanted therapeutic device and alter the dosing regimen accordingly, this might have great potential in delivering personalized and precision medications, reducing off-target effects. and ensuring that the right amount of medicine is delivered at the right time. The work presented here is a step towards that goal.”
Professor Garry Duffy, professor of anatomy and regenerative medicine at UG, and lead author of the study, said: “The device determined the best regimen to deliver a consistent dose, by itself, even when significant fibrosis was simulated. We were able to finely control drug release in a computer model and on the bench using soft robotics, regardless of significant fibrosis.
The research team believes that their medical device breakthrough might pave the way for completely independent closed-loop implants that not only reduce l’encapsulation fibrotiquebut detect it over time and intelligently adjust their drug-release activity in response.
Professor Duffy added: “This is a new area of research that may have implications in other fields and is not limited to the treatment of diabetes alone. Our discovery might provide consistent and responsive dosing over long periods of time without physician intervention, improving efficiency and reducing the need for device replacement due to fibrosis.”
Synthetic
This groundbreaking research demonstrates the potential of smart implantable medical devices to deliver long-lasting personalized treatments. Using gentle robotics and artificial intelligence, these implants are able to adapt to each patient’s unique immune response. They can thus maintain the effectiveness of the treatment despite the formation of scar tissuea major problem with traditional implanted devices.
Although further research is needed, this approach paves the way for a new generation of self-contained, responsive therapeutic implants, improving outcomes for patients with chronic conditions.
For a better understanding
What is the main challenge of implantable medical devices?
The main challenge is the reaction of the human body to the presence of a foreign body, leading to the formation of scar tissue which encapsulates and blocks the device.
She uses a soft robotic implant that can sense the formation of scar tissue and alter its shape using AI to bypass encapsulation and maintain drug delivery.
What are the advantages of this approach?
It allows personalized treatments over the long term, adapting to each patient. The implants might become autonomous and no longer require medical intervention to replace them.
Is this technology already used in humans?
No, so far it has only been tested in computer models and in the laboratory. Further research is needed before clinical application.
What are the next steps in development?
Further testing to confirm efficacy and safety, prior to human clinical trials. The objective is to develop autonomous therapeutic implants using this technology.
Main illustration caption: Professor Garry Duffy and Dr Rachel Beatty show off the flexible robotic implant developed by Galway University and MIT. Credit: Martina Regan
Article : “Soft robot-mediated autonomous adaptation to fibrotic capsule formation for improved drug delivery” – DOI : 10.1126/scirobotics.abq4821
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