Apparatus and method for sonically enhanced drug delivery
AssigneeVibrx, Inc.
InventorsGeoffrey R. Ball, Bob H. Katz
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Apparatus for delivering medicament media into tissue comprises a medicament supply assembly and an oscillatory drive assembly. The medicament supply assembly includes a medicament transfer surface, and the oscillatory drive assembly includes a housing, a coil mounted within the housing, and a magnet suspended within the housing. By applying an electrical drive signal to the coil, the housing can be oscillated to phonophoretically enhance delivery of medicament from the medicament transfer surface into tissue.
Claims25
Apparatus for delivering a medicament medium to a patient, said apparatus comprising:
- a medicament supply assembly having a medicament transfer surface;
- and
- an oscillatory drive assembly in the medicament supply assembly including:
- (a) a housing having an interior space and an exterior surface, wherein the exterior surface is mechanically or fluidly coupled to the medicament transfer surface;
- (b) a coil attached to the housing and disposed in the interior space;
- and
- (c) a magnet suspended within the interior of the housing, wherein an electrical drive signal applied to the coil causes oscillation of the magnet relative to the housing which produces an inertial force which is transmitted to the medicament transfer surface by the housing.
A method for enhancing the delivery of a medicament medium to a body surface, said method comprising:
- applying the medicament medium to the body surface;
- passing an electrical signal through a coil attached to a housing, wherein the coil vibrates a suspended magnet relative to the housing and the magnet causes inertial vibration of the housing;
- and
- transmitting vibrational energy from the housing to the medicament medium and/or the body surface to enhance penetration of the medicament medium into the tissue surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.