Microneedles for minimally invasive drug delivery or for diagnostic sampling

摘要

The present invention provides a minimally invasive diagnostic system for sampling and analyzing a biological fluid from a patient, comprising:(a) a handheld diagnostic unit comprising a housing, a processor, a display electrically coupled to said processor, a keypad electrically coupled to said processor, and a memory electrically coupled to said processor;(b) a disposable cartridge for obtaining a sample of said biological fluid from a patient, said disposable cartridge comprising a housing and an array of microneedles; and(c) a sensor that when in contact with the sample of the biological fluid, produces a signal indicative of a characteristic of said biological fluid, said sensor being adapted to electrically couple with said processor to provide the signal to the processor for diagnostic processing.The present invention further provides a minimally invasive drug delivery system for transdermally delivering a medicinal fluid into a patient, comprising:(a) a handheld control unit comprising a housing, a processor, a display electrically coupled to said processor, a keypad electrically coupled to said processor, a memory electrically coupled to said processor; a medicinal fluid reservoir, a medicinal fluid outlet in fluid communication with said medicinal fluid reservoir, and an actuator that develops pressure to force the medicinal fluid from the medicinal fluid reservoir and through the medicinal fluid outlet for infusion into the patient, said actuator being electrically coupled to and controlled by the processor;(b) a disposable cartridge, said disposable cartridge comprising a housing, and an array of microneedles through which the medicinal fluid is infused into the patient; and(c) a fluid line having a distal end and a proximal end, said proximal end being connected to said medicinal fluid outlet, and said distal end being coupled with said disposable cartridge to provide fluid communication between the medicinal fluid outlet and the disposable cartridge.