Biomechanics of a pneumatic needle-free drug injection system for dental anesthesia

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Many dental procedures require the use of local anaesthetics. Every year 300 million cartridges of local anaesthetics are used worldwide, and the market for local anaesthetics in nearing 4 billion dollars. However, many patients, especially children, have needle phobia. Accordingly, in many dental interventions, children do not tolerate the needles and they end up being either restrained or treated under general anesthesia. This is a traumatic experience for the patient as well as a burden to healthcare costs and practitioners. Needle-free injection of local anesthetics would constitute a leap forward in dentistry, especially in the management of pediatric patients. The company MIT Canada has developed a new technology to inject medications without the need for a needle puncture. The pneumatic jet delivery system is being tested for dental anesthesia applications, and also for in vivo gene delivery. One obstacle to approval for clinical use is a lack of quantitative understanding of the mechanics of the needle-free device. A knowledge of the penetration depth, jet velocity, stagnation pressure, and a quantitative evaluation of the wound size and depth are needed to provide guidance for medical and dental applications. In this project the PI Dr. Mongeau at McGill University will work with MIT Canada to investigate the needle-free technology for dental and medical applications. We will use a transparent phantom that mimics oral soft tissue. We will investigate the jet kinetics for different tissues or materials, and obtain data on the pressures, the injection forces, the wound diameter and depth. The penetration depth information is essential to minimize damage to the nerves. The data will be used to adjust and further optimize the pneumatic delivery supply pressure, the nozzle size and the injection volume for specific dental and craniofacial procedures. This project will benefit Canadian patients with dental diseases by providing them better and less costly treatments. It will benefit the Canadian economy by strengthening a Canadian biotechnology company and creating a Canadian-based technology that will compete in the world market of local anesthetic delivery.