TY - GEN
T1 - Study of a smart polymer medical device, product development obstacles and innovative solutions
AU - Banister, Mark
AU - Clark, Ray
AU - Coiner, Erich
AU - Geronov, Yordan
AU - McWilliams, Mark
AU - Sias, Ralph
AU - Walters, Gary
AU - McGrath, Dominic
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - The concept is simple, within the pump a pH responsive polymer actuator swells in volume under electrically controlled stimulus. As the actuator swells it presses against a drug reservoir, as the reservoir collapses the drug is metered out to the patient. From concept to finished product, engineering this smart system entailed integration across multiple fields of science and engineering. Materials science, nanotechnology, polymer chemistry, organic chemistry, electrochemistry, molecular engineering, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering all played a part in solutions to multiple technical hurdles. Some of these hurdles where overcome by tried and true materials and component engineering, others where resolved by some very creative out of the box thinking and tinkering. This paper, hopefully, will serve to encourage others to venture into unfamiliar territory as we did, in order to overcome technical obstacles and successfully develop a low cost smart medical device that can truly change a patient's life.
AB - The concept is simple, within the pump a pH responsive polymer actuator swells in volume under electrically controlled stimulus. As the actuator swells it presses against a drug reservoir, as the reservoir collapses the drug is metered out to the patient. From concept to finished product, engineering this smart system entailed integration across multiple fields of science and engineering. Materials science, nanotechnology, polymer chemistry, organic chemistry, electrochemistry, molecular engineering, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering all played a part in solutions to multiple technical hurdles. Some of these hurdles where overcome by tried and true materials and component engineering, others where resolved by some very creative out of the box thinking and tinkering. This paper, hopefully, will serve to encourage others to venture into unfamiliar territory as we did, in order to overcome technical obstacles and successfully develop a low cost smart medical device that can truly change a patient's life.
KW - EAP pump
KW - Polymer actuated drug deliver device
KW - Polymer actuator
KW - Smart polymer
KW - Smart polymer actuator
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84860780036&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84860780036&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1117/12.915529
DO - 10.1117/12.915529
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:84860780036
SN - 9780819490001
T3 - Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
BT - Industrial and Commercial Applications of Smart Structures Technologies 2012
T2 - Industrial and Commercial Applications of Smart Structures Technologies 2012
Y2 - 12 March 2012 through 13 March 2012
ER -