US Patent:
20130030354, Jan 31, 2013
Inventors:
Sau Yin CHIN - Bronx NY, US
Samuel K. Sia - New York NY, US
Olga Ordeig - Brooklyn NY, US
Anne-Celine Kohler - Paris, FR
Yuk Kee Cheung - Cambridge MA, US
Assignee:
The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York - New York NY
International Classification:
A61M 37/00
A61M 5/168
US Classification:
604 20, 604 22, 604131, 604500
Abstract:
MicroElectroMechanical System (MEMS) devices can be fabricated completely of hydrogel materials. Such hydrogels can include polyethylene glycol with diacrylate functional groups (e.g., PEGDA), which are photopolymerizable in the presence of crosslinkers and photoinitiators. By using PEGDA monomers of different molecular weights and at different percentages, the mechanical properties of the polymerized gels and their respective permeabilities can be tuned. This spatial variation in properties and permeabilities can lead to different functionalities between different portions of the hydrogel MEMS device. Portions of the hydrogel device may be remotely actuated by applying wave energy, for example, a magnetic field, high intensity focused ultrasound, and/or infrared radiation. The remote actuation can allow the device to be actuated in vivo, for example, to allow the device to deliver a drug or other substance at a desired time and/or desired location within a patient.