School of thought

Payam Zachkani is a graduate student has played a pivotal role in a range of innovative device projects including a battery-less drug delivery implant small enough to be implanted inside the prostate through a needle

Who are you and what do you do?

My name is Payam Zachkani and I am a graduate student and research assistant at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, Canada. After my undergraduate studies at University of Tehran, I moved to Canada to obtain a Master of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering under the supervision of professor Mu Chiao. Currently I’m a member of the Microsystems and Nanotechnology group (MiNa) which consists of several research groups that focus on development and testing of very small systems known as MEMS devices (Micro-Electro Mechanical Systems). Here at the UBC MEMS Lab, our main focus is on biomedical applications of such small devices.

What  projects / developments have you been focussed on recently

During my early days at UBC, I was working on a microvalve system and later on a drug delivery implant for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy. A few months into my program, I started my research project: designing, fabrication and testing of a very small drug delivery system that could be implanted inside the prostate in order to treat/slow down prostate cancer. Almost 15 months have passed since the start of this project and today we have working prototypes.

Describe your latest innovation?

Two major obstacles in successful commercialisation of current MEMS drug delivery implants are the size of the devices and their reliability; these devices are still too big to be implanted and doubts exist regarding their performance when implanted. The main culprit is the on-board battery which dominates the size of the device and has limited lifetime. Eliminating battery and associated circuitry from biomedical implants not only makes the device simpler, but also shrinks the size of the devices and enhances their reliability.

We have developed a battery-less drug delivery implant that is small enough to be implanted inside the prostate through a needle. This minimally invasive procedure eliminates the need for intensive surgery for implantation. This device can provide localised and on-demand drug release for extended periods of time with exact control over drug dosage, avoiding side-effects caused by common localised prostate cancer treatments (such as radiation, prostatectomy or systemic chemotherapy) while providing specific release profiles tailored to each patient’s needs.

Our device releases drug when an external magnetic field is applied. Despite its small size, it holds enough drugs to release for several months. The device is made of biocompatible materials and after implantation, there is no need to remove the device from the prostate.

What does it mean for the medical sector?

Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer in men and it’s the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in developed countries. Current treatments for localised prostate cancer (including surgery and radiation therapy) have side-effects causing patient morbidity. Therefore, most patients diagnosed with low-risk and low-stage prostate cancer go through active surveillance, (ie. monitoring of the tumour until signs of cancer growth are observed) to avoid overtreatment. Implanting a remotely-controlled drug delivery device into the prostate in such patients can prevent the cancer from further progression into a more aggressive stage while avoiding most side-effects caused by current treatments.

The size and the shape of our device allow for implantation through a needle with minimally invasive procedures allowing for reduced side effects associated with full prostate removal. This device provides localised drug delivery directly to the prostate, minimising drug interactions with other tissues and potentially it can have fewer side effects than systemic administration of docetaxel for treatment of localised tumours in chemotherapy. The results show reproducible drug release rates. The amount and the time of release can be controlled to match with the specific physiology of each patient. This device can be added to the active surveillance strategy in prostate cancer management, to prevent or slow down cancer progression in patients who have low-risk localised prostate cancer. Although the main objective in this project was to design a system specifically for prostate cancer, this concept would be equally feasible for the treatment of some other types of low-stage localised cancer or other chronic diseases.

Plans for the future

After getting my degree, I plan to join industry and gain some out-of-school experience. I am actively looking for job positions in this field. My ultimate goal is to start my own company, preferably in the biomedical area, to promote public health and well-being. For me, this would be the achievement of a life-long dream.