IntelliDrug - a European funded research project entered a trial phase. An oral drug delivery device placed in the mouth next to the patient's teeth, allowing them to eat and speak without impediment is going to become an every day reality shortly.
IntelliDrug is a project that focuses on developing a new solution in pharmaceutical technologies. A new smart oral drug delivery device is the answer to the problems of people who suffer from drug addiction or long term diseases. The product provides them with a new non-invasive and precisely controlled drug delivery tool.
The device is placed in the mouth in a removable dental appliance. It looks like a natural tooth and allows the patient to speak and eat freely. These "smart teeth" contain medicine and a microsystem, which controls the whole process. This allows the medicine to be released in a controlled manner according to the patient's needs for as long as it is necessary. After that, the container can be reloaded with fresh medication in a simple non-invasive way. Since the system includes a remote control tool it is possible to steer the treatment process. The remote control also informs the patient and physician about the need for refilling.
This method of drug delivery could replace injections, which cause pain and discomfort. Moreover, the blood level of pharmaceutics is better controlled than in the traditional way, which may reduce many side effects.
A first human trial has demonstrated that the IntelliDrug system is able to increase the bioavailability (fraction of an administered dose of drug that reaches the systemic circulation) of naltrexone (a drug used to treat addictions) 17 fold, compared to the usual oral (swallowed) dosing of pills.
This revolutionary device is a product of a work of a team of researchers from Germany, Poland, Italy, Spain, Israel and Switzerland.
The remote control and visualization how IntelliDrug will look once in the market
The first prototype of IntelliDrug
IntelliDrug chip
Notice: This video does not contain audio record
In the video a mouth of a patient is shown, where the device occupies the space of two right lower molar teeth. On its lingual side (facing the tongue) the dark squares are the openings for water entry from saliva. This water dissolves the solid medication placed inside the device, creating osmotic pressure that drives the medication to the devices outlet.
On the buccal side (facing the cheek), the dark squares denote the outlet for drug release to the buccal mucosa (lining of the inner cheek). The space between the teeth and the device on one side and the cheek on the other is only shown for illustrative purposes.
In reality, the cheek is in intimate contact with opposing surface of the teeth. Thus, once released, the drug “hits” immediately the mucosa. This fact facilitates the absorption of the drug by the tissue, which is highly irrigated by blood vessels. Once in the tissue, the medication will be carried away to the whole organism by the blood stream.
Finally the clock denotes the ability of the system to release the medication at a precise timing. This feature is enabled by the programmed software, which is part of the device mechanism.