• Jeongmin Lee, Sangwook Lee, Wooram Jung, Guk Bae Kim, Taehun Kim, Jiwon Seong, Hyemin Jang, Young Noh, Na Kyung Lee, Boo Rak Lee, Jung-Il Lee, Soo Jin Choi, Wonil Oh, Namkug Kim, Seunghoon Lee, and Duk L Na.
• Cell and Gene Therapy Institute, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
• J. Korean Med. Sci. 2022 Aug 8; 37 (31): e244.

BackgroundTo deliver therapeutics into the brain, it is imperative to overcome the issue of the blood-brain-barrier (BBB). One of the ways to circumvent the BBB is to administer therapeutics directly into the brain parenchyma. To enhance the treatment efficacy for chronic neurodegenerative disorders, repeated administration to the target location is required. However, this increases the number of operations that must be performed. In this study, we developed the IntraBrain Injector (IBI), a new implantable device to repeatedly deliver therapeutics into the brain parenchyma.MethodsWe designed and fabricated IBI with medical grade materials, and evaluated the efficacy and safety of IBI in 9 beagles. The trajectory of IBI to the hippocampus was simulated prior to surgery and the device was implanted using 3D-printed adaptor and surgical guides. Ferumoxytol-labeled mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were injected into the hippocampus via IBI, and magnetic resonance images were taken before and after the administration to analyze the accuracy of repeated injection.ResultsWe compared the planned vs. insertion trajectory of IBI to the hippocampus. With a similarity of 0.990 ± 0.001 (mean ± standard deviation), precise targeting of IBI was confirmed by comparing planned vs. insertion trajectories of IBI. Multiple administrations of ferumoxytol-labeled MSCs into the hippocampus using IBI were both feasible and successful (success rate of 76.7%). Safety of initial IBI implantation, repeated administration of therapeutics, and long-term implantation have all been evaluated in this study.ConclusionPrecise and repeated delivery of therapeutics into the brain parenchyma can be done without performing additional surgeries via IBI implantation.© 2022 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.

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