Patent ID: 8628517

Claim:
A microfluidic device for deliverying a drug to an individual, comprising: a body defining a single, undivided, chamber having a fluid impermeable boundary defining the entirety of the chamber and including a fluid impermeable membrane having a first side partially defining the fluid impermeable boundary of the chamber, a second side partially defining a reservoir, and fluidically isolating the reservoir from the chamber, the chamber being puncturable and having an initial state wherein the fluid impermeable boundary is unpenetrated; an output needle having an input in communication with the reservoir and an output receivable within the individual; an aqueous solution selectively movable between a first position external of the chamber and a second position within the chamber of the body, the aqueous solution being selectively injected into the chamber through the fluid impermeable boundary; an adhesive for affixing the body to the individual; a pressure source including an hydrogel member received within the chamber and being expandable in response to communication with the aqueous solution deposited in the chamber, the hydrogel member engageable with the reservoir and urging the drug under pressure from the reservoir, through the output needle as the hydrogel member expands; and a valve interconnecting the reservoir and the output needle, the valve movable between a non-actuated position wherein the valve prevents the flow of the drug from the reservoir to the output needle and an actuated position wherein the valve allows for the flow of the drug from the reservoir to the output needle.