SBIR Phase I: The Chairside Delivery of Focused Microwave Energy for Caries Therapy

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）项目解决了对龋齿（牙齿的微生物感染）管理的新的微创方法的需求。龋齿是最普遍的慢性疾病之一，几乎感染了每个美国人的一生。治疗龋齿的优势包括由牙医使用旋转器械（“钻孔”）进行手术去除龋齿。然而，一种方法，以明确规避继续使用手术治疗涉及的概念，消毒龋齿的牙齿使用集中的微波能量。通过杀死细菌，可以阻止疾病，并增强自发再矿化的环境。该提案旨在测试以下假设：直接传递到牙齿的聚焦微波能量对龋齿原生细菌是致命的。因此，本研究的目的是（1）开发一种稳定有效的器械，用于椅旁输送聚焦微波能量;（2）证明输送的微波能量可有效杀灭龋齿中的细菌;以及3）进一步证明牙齿暴露于微波能量不会显著增加牙齿温度或改变牙齿结构。拟议的研究将导致一种新的鞋盒大小的设备，能够提供集中的微波能量直接到牙齿的发展。更广泛的/商业影响，这个项目，如果成功，将是一个设备的发展，使低成本，快速和非侵入性治疗龋齿使用的牙科和非牙科专业人员。随着治疗效率的提高和获得护理的机会的增加，这种护理方法的经济影响将是巨大的。对于后者，尽管预防工作取得了进展，但龋齿继续不成比例地影响低收入儿童、工作穷人和老年人。因此，由于使用拟议的技术将需要最低限度的技术技能，治疗有可能由学校或疗养院受过训练的护士向弱势群体提供。在商业规模上，该装置将通过提供非侵入性治疗龋齿的快速和确定的手段而对牙医具有广泛的实用性，从而减少治疗的复杂性和时间，同时保留牙齿结构。预计该器械在美国和世界各地的市场都很广泛。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project addresses the need for new and minimally invasive approaches to the management of dental caries, a microbial infection of teeth. Caries is one of the most widespread of chronic diseases that infects nearly every American during their lifetime. The preponderance of treatment for caries involves its surgical removal by dentists using rotary instrumentation ("drilling'). However, one way to definitively circumvent the continued use of surgical treatment involves the concept of disinfecting caries in teeth using focused microwave energy. By killing the bacteria, the disease can be arrested and an environment for spontaneous remineralization enhanced. This proposal aims to test the hypothesis that focused microwave energy delivered directly to a tooth is lethal to bacteria that are native to dental caries. Thus, the purpose of this study is to (1) develop a stable and efficient device for the chairside delivery of focused microwave energy; (2) to demonstrate that the delivered microwave energy is effective in killing bacteria in caries; and 3) to further demonstrate that exposure of teeth to microwave energy does not significantly increase tooth temperature or alter tooth structure. The proposed research will result in the development of a novel shoebox-sized device capable of delivering focused microwave energy directly to a tooth.The broader/commercial impact of this project, if success, will be the development of a device that will enable the low-cost, rapid and non-invasive treatment of caries to be used both by dental and non-dental professionals. The economic impact of this approach to care would be immense as treatment efficiency is improved and access to care is increased. For the latter, despite advances in prevention, caries continues to disproportionately affect low income children, the working poor and the elderly. Thus, since the use of the proposed technology would require minimal technical skill, treatment could potentially be provided by trained nurses in schools or nursing homes to vulnerable populations. On a commercial scale, the device will have extensive utility for dentists by providing a rapid and definitive means of non-invasively treating caries, thereby reducing the complexity and time of treatment while preserving tooth structure. It is anticipate that the market for the device would be extensive both in the United States and around the world.