Soft implantable drug delivery device integrated wirelessly with wearable devices to treat fatal seizures
Hyun‐Woo Joo, Youngsik Lee, Jaemin Kim, Jeong-Suk Yoo, Seungwon Yoo, Sangyeon Kim, Sangyeon Kim, Ashwini Kumar Arya, Sang Jun Kim, Sang Jun Kim, Seung Hong Choi, Nanshu Lu, Han Sang Lee, Sanghoek Kim, Sanghoek Kim, Soon‐Tae Lee, Dae‐Hyeong Kim
Abstract
Personalized biomedical devices have enormous potential to solve clinical challenges in urgent medical situations. Despite this potential, a device for in situ treatment of fatal seizures using pharmaceutical methods has not been developed yet. Here, we present a novel treatment system for neurological medical emergencies, such as status epilepticus, a fatal epileptic condition that requires immediate treatment, using a soft implantable drug delivery device (SID). The SID is integrated wirelessly with wearable devices for monitoring electroencephalography signals and triggering subcutaneous drug release through wireless voltage induction. Because of the wireless integration, bulky rigid components such as sensors, batteries, and electronic circuits can be moved from the SID to wearables, and thus, the mechanical softness and miniaturization of the SID are achieved. The efficacy of the prompt treatment could be demonstrated with animal experiments in vivo, in which brain damages were reduced and survival rates were increased.