# A Wireless, Implantable Microdevice for Closed-Loop Drug Delivery to Prevent the Morbidity of Diabetes Therapy-Induced Hypoglycemia

> **NIH NIH R01** · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $546,731

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 Nearly 30 million patients in the United States suffer from either type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Hypoglycemia
is a common and potentially life-threatening side effect of diabetes treatment. Clinical implications of
hypoglycemia include acute risk of cognitive impairment, seizure, cardiovascular events, brain damage or even
death, as well as long term risks of accelerated dementia. The progressive loss of hypoglycemic awareness,
hypoglycemic unawareness, impairs recognition of the early signs of low blood sugar, increasing the severity of
acute complications and the need for hospitalization. Current methods for management of severe hypoglycemia
include intravenous dextrose infusion or intramuscular injection of glucagon. However, these methods require
that an emergency source of medication is always available near the patient, and necessitate reliance on
caregivers who may not be well trained to administer these treatments.
 A closed-loop implantable drug delivery system (IDDS) that releases anti-hypoglycemic drugs precisely
in response to low blood glucose levels, and is small enough to be implanted with minimal invasiveness, could
substantially improve hypoglycemia management. The goal of this project is to develop novel technologies to
make such an IDDS a reality. The proposed IDDS is the first ultrasonically powered implant platform for precision
drug delivery that is minimally invasive and enables fully programmable, personalized, and closed-loop drug
delivery to treat severe hypoglycemia. The IDDS utilizes electroresponsive polypyrrole nanoparticles (PPy NPs)
to store the required drugs. When electrically stimulated, the PPy NPs change shape and size, thereby releasing
their drug cargo. The IDDS is wirelessly powered using ultrasound which enables miniaturization of the implants
for minimal invasiveness, and safe operation in the body. Closed-loop control will be implemented in order to
release the drugs only when a low or rapidly falling glucose level is detected by a commercial glucose monitor.
 The objective will be reached by pursuing the following three specific aims: (1) Under Aim I, the size and
composition of the nanoparticles will be optimized for efficient release of anti-hypoglycemic drugs. Our current
models for enhancement of the stability of the drugs when attached to the nanoparticles will also be verified and
optimized in vitro and in vivo in mouse models. (2) Aim II will entail development of the packaged mm-sized
IDDS implant, integration of a commercial glucose monitor into the system, and in vitro validation of closed-loop
functionality. (3) Under Aim III, in vivo tests in mice with induced hypoglycemia will be performed to optimize
therapeutic reversal of hypoglycemia and subsequently with the integrated implant platform to test the feasibility
of using the device to treat diabetic hypoglycemia. This project is significant as its successful completion could
not only lead to a paradigm shift in how hypoglyce...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9853784
- **Project number:** 5R01EB025867-03
- **Recipient organization:** STANFORD UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Amin Arbabian
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $546,731
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-04-01 → 2022-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9853784

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9853784, A Wireless, Implantable Microdevice for Closed-Loop Drug Delivery to Prevent the Morbidity of Diabetes Therapy-Induced Hypoglycemia (5R01EB025867-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9853784. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*