Ocular drug delivery system using open-source syringe pump

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study is to design an automated ocular drug delivery system controlled by an open-source syringe pump, which in turn is to be controlled using Arduino UNO. Methods: The Arduino UNO is the microcontroller used to control the entire setup. The drug delivery is executed using the open-source syringe pump. A 12V NEMA 17 stepper motor is used to execute the pump movements. To facilitate the ease of use, an Android application developed using Android Studio has been developed, where inputs are given in the form of the required drug dose. The application plays the role of converting the requested drug dose into the number of steps required to run the stepper motor. The stepper motor works based on simple lead-screw mechanism. Results: The designed syringe pump has been tested using water. It was determined that for 42 steps a drug volume of 30 µl is dispensed by the designed device. Typically, a drop volume ranges from 33.8 µl to 63.4 µl and the device that has been discussed in this article can deliver a minimum volume of 30 µl. Conclusion: Using this device, excessive use of drugs can be minimalized, thus reducing the capital investment put behind ocular drugs.