طراحی و ساخت دستگاه خودتجویزی دارو برای مدلسازی اعتیاد در حیوانات آزمایشگاهی: از ایده تا محصول.

Introduction: Intravenous drug self-administration has been used as a standard method in preclinical studies of drug addiction in laboratory animals. Because of the lack of domestic production of the self-administration device and the exorbitant cost of the foreign product, there has been an unmet need for using this model in research in Iran. Therefore, in this project we prompted to pursue domestic production of the device. Methods and Materials: First the specifications, precise physical and software details, standards, and the expected operational capabilities of the standard self-administration device were extracted from manufacturers’ websites, textbooks, and scientific articles. Then, a three-lever model device was designed and the prototype was constructed with the contribution of an engineering team from the private sector. After that, the device was tested in a laboratory field to, besides its troubleshooting, assess its conventional functioning. Results: A device for intravenous self-administration of substances in rats was designed, and manufactured with hardware and software parts. The hardware consisted a test box, an infusion pump, a food dispenser, a stimulator, and an interface. The software automatically controlled the hardware components and recorded the events. Three levers were installed in the box that the animal could press to receive an intravenous infusion of an addictive drug or an edible food. Conclusion: The self-administration device for intravenous drug injection was designed, built, and localized in Iran for the first time. After the construction of the prototype and using it in a research project, a scale-up version was built and its commercialization has been started. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]