The long-term objective is to develop a drug delivery system capable of administering small, well controlled aliquots of an aqueous solution into the airways of newborn infants receiving mechanical ventilation. The approach uses a microprocessor to monitor the airway pressure and to control a rapid response syringe pump. The microprocessor gives the operator the opportunity to select the aliquot volume of drug to be administered with each breath, the total volume and time period that the drug will be administered and the specific moment during the ventilatory cycle. The device will use a nozzle built in as the side port of a special endotracheal tube (ET) to give the drug a velocity component in the direction of the patient. We believe that the least amount of reflux and the greatest penetration of the lung will occur when the drug is administered during inspiration just prior to peak inspiratory flow. The use of the small side lumen of a double lumen ET tube as a port for administering drugs directly into the trachea will also be investigated. The device would find application in surfactant delivery regimens. The use of the device would eliminate the "hand delivery methods" presently used by physicians and nurses in administering surfactant.Awardee's statement of the potential commercial applications of the research:The use of a microprocessor-controlled drug administration system that keys on the airway pressure wave form to determine the appropriate moment in the respiratory cycle for drug administration will offer a new and more efficacious method of delivery drugs to the airways of infants.National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
