Sivakumaran, Derick & Landers, Fabian & Boehler, Quentin & Chautems, C & Pan, S & Nelson, Brad. (2022). In Vitro Navigation of a Magnetic Sphere using a Model Predictive Controller for Neurovascular Targeted Drug Delivery Applications. 109-110. 10.31256/HSMR2022.54.
The conventional systemic administration of drugs has been utilized in medicine for centuries. However, sys- temic drug administration limits the kind of drugs and the minimally required doses for treatment inside the human body. Furthermore, directly delivering pharma- ceuticals to the location inside the body where they are needed would increase their efficacy while limiting side effects and opening new possibilities in drug develop- ment [1]. In the following, this direct transport will be referred to as Targeted Drug Delivery (TDD). Navigation inside the human body is challenging, and several factors, such as biocompatibility, controlla- bility, and scalability, need to be considered. Magnetic navigation is a promising technique for enabling TDD inside the human body for several reasons [2]: • The magnetic fields and gradients in the range required for magnetic navigation are considered biocompatible. • Magnetic fields and gradients are highly control- lable. • Magnetic fields and gradients offer good scaling properties and are thus applicable for small-scaled objects fitting into the human vasculature. Some research attention has been directed towards in-silico simulations of the forces and flows inside the vasculature [3]. However, due to non-linear forces inside blood vessels, pulsatile flows, and the elastic nature of the human vasculature, an experimental platform is required to verify and improve navigation strategies.
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