Revolutionizing chemotherapy dosing with a closed-loop automated drug infusion regulator has the potential to make personalized drug delivery a reality for patients undergoing chemotherapy.
Louis DeRidder, a graduate student and MathWorks fellow in the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology program, is on a mission to revolutionize chemotherapy dosing with his innovative device, CLAUDIA. This Closed-Loop Automated Drug Infusion Regulator has the potential to make personalized drug delivery a reality for patients undergoing chemotherapy.
DeRidder’s interest in medical science began at a young age, when he had a life-threatening medical emergency that left him eager to learn more about healthcare. He spent his high school years participating in medicine-focused programs and shadowing doctors, which sparked a lifelong passion for understanding how drugs are delivered to the brain. This curiosity led him to pursue research on developing nanoparticles to deliver therapeutic nucleic acids.
The CLAUDIA system is designed to measure the concentration of chemotherapy drugs in the blood while they’re being administered and adjust the infusion rate accordingly. This approach addresses the limitations of traditional dosing methods, which rely on a formula developed in 1916 that estimates body surface area but doesn’t account for individual variations in metabolism or circadian fluctuations.
The Claudia system is a type of decision-making algorithm used in artificial intelligence.
It is based on the concept of probabilistic inference and can be used to make decisions in complex situations.
The system uses Bayesian networks to analyze data and make predictions.
This approach allows for more accurate and informed decision-making, especially in uncertain or dynamic environments.
Developed by researchers at MIT, Claudia has been applied in various fields, including healthcare and finance.
DeRidder’s advisors, Robert Langer and Giovanni Traverso, presented him with this problem statement, which he found ‘insane’ given the potential consequences. With their guidance, DeRidder began brainstorming ways to develop a medical device that could improve patient outcomes. He credits MathWorks and Simulink for enabling him to model drug pharmacokinetics and system components, which was crucial in determining whether controlling concentration was possible.
DeRidder’s innovative use of MATLAB and Simulink tools has earned him MathWorks fellowships, as well as a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. He is working with a team of students and researchers to develop CLAUDIA, with the ultimate goal of bringing it to clinical use.
In addition to his work on CLAUDIA, DeRidder is also exploring new nanoparticles for delivering therapeutic nucleic acids. His research involves synthesizing new molecules and developing polymeric and lipid nanoparticles to target specific tissues and cells. By working at different scales – from medical devices to molecules – DeRidder aims to improve the practice of medicine.
DeRidder’s commitment to community service is evident in his volunteer work with the homeless on Boston streets. He recognizes the importance of serving communities beyond research, which he believes can sometimes lead to a focus on abstract concepts at the expense of concrete actions.
Ultimately, DeRidder plans to continue working on developing devices and molecular therapies for neurological diseases, building on his early experiences interacting with patients with dementia and other conditions in a local nursing home. His work has the potential to make a significant impact on patient care and outcomes, and he is committed to pushing CLAUDIA toward clinical use and beyond.
- mit.edu | Designing better ways to deliver drugs
