Novel Drug Delivery System Wins TCT Healthcare Award

The device, which includes an additively manufactured (AM) port, enables pharmaceuticals to bypass the blood brain barrier, so that drug candidates can be delivered directly into the brain.

At the moment, there are no approved methods for the chronic delivery of neurological disorders directly into the brain, which is something that Renishaw hopes the device will change. neuroinfuse has potential to help develop therapeutic regimes for a range of neurological conditions and brain tumours.

The device is currently being used on humanitarian grounds to treat children, typically between the ages of five and ten, suffering with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), an aggressive form of brain tumour. It is currently being used in a Phase I – II clinical trial with Herantis Pharma Plc to help develop therapeutic regimes for Parkinson’s disease, a neurological disorder that currently has no cure.

Designed and manufactured by Renishaw, neuroinfuse includes a 3D printed titanium transcutaneous port, which is anchored into the patient’s bone behind their ear. The port accesses four catheters, implanted into a target area in the brain. Drug-filled infusion lines can then be repeatably connected via the MRI compatible titanium application set. Retractable needles can extend through the port’s septum, so that therapeutics are infused through the catheters and into the brain. Once the port has been implanted, delivery of pharmaceuticals can be done over a long period of time, without the need for further surgery.

“Now is an exciting time for additive manufacturing in the healthcare sector,” explained Dr Max Woolley, Technical Fellow and Head of Drug Delivery Device Research and Development, at Renishaw. “The technology has enabled the industry to produce new, innovative devices in a streamlined and efficient way. AM healthcare technology has great potential both for clinicians and patients.”

Five products were shortlisted for the award, including: a biomimetic regenerative scaffold; a brain aneurysm surgery aid; 3D scaffolds to separate breast cancer stem cells for cancer research; printed pills; and the neuroinfuse drug delivery system.

For further information on the neuroinfuse drug delivery system, visit https://www.renishaw.com/en/neuroinfuse-drug-delivery-system--42358.