Helical neural implants for intracerebral drug delivery

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Neuroscience
• Drug Delivery Systems

Background:

• Neurological disorders necessitate targeted chemical delivery via intracerebral implants.
• Existing implants often have limited dosing regions and volumes.
• Minimizing mechanical mismatch and gliosis is crucial for brain implants.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop novel intracerebral catheter designs for targeting larger brain tissue volumes.
• To create a minimally invasive implant to reduce gliosis.
• To introduce the SPIRAL catheter for enhanced regional drug administration.

Main Methods:

• Design and fabrication of a helical microfluidic catheter (SPIRAL).
• Utilized computational fluid dynamics (CFDs) for in silico modeling and optimization.
• Validated fluid dynamics and chronic viability through in vitro and in vivo testing.

Main Results:

• CFD models demonstrated SPIRAL's capability for variable fluid distribution compared to straight catheters.
• In silico optimization of channel openings ensured uniform flow, validated in vitro.
• Chronically implanted SPIRAL catheters showed no increased gliosis compared to standard catheters.

Conclusions:

• The helical SPIRAL catheter enables precise fluid localization with minimal invasiveness.
• SPIRAL facilitates multiregional brain access for improved therapeutic strategies.
• This novel design holds promise for treating neurological diseases.