Patent ID: 8579885

Claim:
An implantable fluid delivery system comprising: a fluid reservoir configured to hold a supply of fluid, to dispense that fluid under the control of an actuator, and adapted to be implanted within the body of a living host; and an actuator within the fluid reservoir configured to cause the fluid to be controllably dispensed from the fluid reservoir, the actuator including: a bellows configured to expand in a direction when inflated, the bellows having folds with surfaces which run substantially perpendicular to the direction of expansion in a collapsed state and which define a stacked set of convolutions, each of which has a collapsed height of no more than 1 mm, the stacked set of convolutions being stacked in their collapsed state in substantially the direction of expansion; and electrodes configured to come in electrical contact with an electrolyte within the bellows and to cause electricity to run through the electrolyte, thereby causing the electrolyte to break down into a gas and, in turn, to cause the bellows to expand in the direction of expansion.