SBIR Phase I: High-performance Polymer Composites for Mouth Guards

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目解决了对提供更好保护的新型护口材料的迫切需求。尽管在体育运动中广泛使用护齿器，但仅在美国，每年就有超过100万例牙齿受伤，造成的损失达5亿美元。Akervall科技公司提出了一种新的材料概念，其中固体/液体悬浮液被纳入热塑性聚合物。研究目标是：(1)合成与热塑性聚合物化学相容的非牛顿固体/液体悬浮液；(2)表征悬浮液的物理性质和流变行为；(3)将悬浮液掺入聚合物中，并测量所得到的复合材料在典型运动或插管场景下吸收冲击能量的能力；(4)微调和匹配材料的特性，以吸收冲击能量，以优化特定运动或医疗应用的保护。预期的结果包括证明了一种革命性的方法来冲击能量吸收护齿器的概念，以及为下一代护齿器技术提供基础的新型材料配方。该项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是引入一种新的牙齿保护概念，并克服目前消费者对笨重和不舒服的口腔防护装置的接受度不足。全球护齿器市场每年约为5亿美元，如果消费者对护齿器的接受程度提高，每年可能超过10亿美元。该项目为设计和制造一种薄而灵活的口腔护套奠定了基础，这种护套佩戴起来非常舒适，同时提供比现有护套更好的保护。它将是第一个也是唯一一个可以根据可调固体/液体悬浮液的基础研究对特定应用进行调整和优化的护齿器。引进这种独特的口腔保护技术将使公司占据重要的市场份额，并将创造就业机会，因为公司计划建立一个新的生产工厂来生产这种口腔保护装置。该公司致力于雇佣多元化的员工，并投资于社区推广，特别是让年轻人意识到为什么在体育活动中佩戴护齿器是如此重要。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project addresses the urgent need for new mouth guard materials that provide better protection. Despite widespread use of mouth guards in sports, there are more than 1 million dental injuries per year costing $500 million in the US alone. Akervall Technologies Inc. proposes a novel materials concept where solid/liquid suspensions are incorporated into thermoplastic polymers. The research objectives are to: (1) synthesize non-Newtonian solid/liquid suspensions that are chemically compatible with thermoplastic polymers; (2) characterize the physical properties and rheology behavior of the suspensions; (3) incorporate the suspensions into polymers and measure the ability of the resulting materials composite to absorb impact energy under typical sports or intubation scenarios; (4) fine tune and match the properties of the material for impact energy absorption to optimize the protection for a specific sport or medical application. Anticipated results include proof of concept of a revolutionary approach to impact energy absorption in mouth guards, and novel materials formulations providing the basis for next-generation mouth guard technology.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to introduce a new concept for dental protection and to overcome the lack of consumer acceptance of currently available bulky and uncomfortable mouth guards. The worldwide market for mouth guards is about $500 million per year, and could exceed $ 1 billion/year if consumer acceptance of mouth guards could be increased. This project sets the stage for the design and fabrication of a thin and flexible mouth guard that is very comfortable to wear, while providing much better protection than existing mouth guards. It will be the first and only mouth guard that can be tuned and optimized for a specific application based on fundamental research on tunable solid/liquid suspensions. The introduction oft this unique mouth guard technology will position the company to reach for a significant market share and will lead to job creation as the company plans to build a new manufacturing facility for producing this mouth guard. The company is committed to hiring a diverse work force and to invest into community outreach, to make especially the youth aware of why it is so important to wear mouth guards in sports activities.