Control to concentrate drug-coated magnetic particles to deep-tissue tumors for targeted cancer chemotherapy

The control problem for concentrating drug-coated magnetic nano-particles to deep-tissue tumors in a patient is developed and initial control ideas are presented. In current implementations of magnetically-controlled drug targeting, stationary magnets (creating static magnetic fields) are held outside the patient’s body, these magnets attract the nano-particles to their corners, and hence focus them to tumors at or near the skin surface. Deep tissue tumors cannot be targeted in this way. Dynamic control of magnetic fields can allow drug targeting to tumors deep in the body, creating high drug concentrations at the tumor (effective treatment) with low concentrations in the rest of the body (eliminating life-threatening side-effects), and thereby dramatically improving chemotherapy treatment. Here we synthesize the control problem (accurately stating the problem definition is itself a serious challenge), show initial results for focusing magnetic particles to a target in air by feedback control of magnetic fields, and present a first-cut approach for doing the same inside the human blood vasculature network and the surrounding tissue. As such, we are presenting preliminary results in a long-term effort. the development of control algorithms and sensing/actuating technology to concentrate chemotherapy drugs to deep tissue tumors for dramatically improved treatment of cancer.