A microfluidic reciprocating intracochlear drug delivery system with reservoir and active dose control.

Reciprocating microfluidic drug delivery, as compared to steady or pulsed infusion, has unique features which may be advantageous in many therapeutic applications. We have previously described a device, designed for wearable use in small animal models, that periodically infuses and then withdraws a sub-microliter volume of drug solution to and from the endogenous fluid of the inner ear. This delivery approach results in zero net volume of liquid transfer while enabling mass transport of compounds to the cochlea by means of diffusion and mixing.

Microsystems technologies for drug delivery to the inner ear.

The inner ear represents one of the most technologically challenging targets for local drug delivery, but its clinical significance is rapidly increasing. The prevalence of sensorineural hearing loss and other auditory diseases, along with balance disorders and tinnitus, has spurred broad efforts to develop therapeutic compounds and regenerative approaches to treat these conditions, necessitating advances in systems capable of targeted and sustained drug delivery. The delicate nature of hearing structures combined with the relative inaccessibility of the cochlea by means of conventional delivery routes together necessitate significant advancements in both the precision and miniaturization of delivery systems, and the nature of the molecular and cellular targets for these therapies suggests that multiple compounds may need to be delivered in a time-sequenced fashion over an extended duration.

Kinetics of reciprocating drug delivery to the inner ear.

Reciprocating drug delivery is a means of delivering soluble drugs directly to closed fluid spaces in the body via a single cannula without an accompanying fluid volume change. It is ideally suited for drug delivery into small, sensitive and unique fluid spaces such as the cochlea. We characterized the pharmacokinetics of reciprocating drug delivery to the scala tympani within the cochlea by measuring the effects of changes in flow parameters on the distribution of drug throughout the length of the cochlea.