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

许多牙科手术需要使用局部麻醉剂。全世界每年使用3亿盒局部麻醉剂，局部麻醉剂的市场规模接近40亿美元。然而，许多患者，尤其是儿童，都有针恐惧症。因此，在许多牙科干预中，儿童不能忍受针头，他们最终要么被限制，要么在全身麻醉下治疗。这对病人来说是一种创伤性的经历，对医疗费用和从业人员来说也是一种负担。无针注射局麻药将构成一个飞跃在牙科，特别是在儿科患者的管理。加拿大麻省理工学院公司开发了一种无需针头注射药物的新技术。气动喷射输送系统正在测试用于牙科麻醉的应用，也用于体内基因输送。批准临床使用的一个障碍是缺乏对无针装置力学的定量理解。需要了解穿透深度、射流速度、停滞压力以及伤口大小和深度的定量评估，以便为医疗和牙科应用提供指导。在这个项目中，麦吉尔大学的PI Mongeau博士将与加拿大麻省理工学院合作，研究牙科和医疗应用的无针技术。我们将使用一个透明的假体来模拟口腔软组织。我们将研究不同组织或材料的射流动力学，并获得有关压力，注射力，伤口直径和深度的数据。穿透深度信息对于减少神经损伤至关重要。这些数据将用于调整和进一步优化特定牙科和颅面手术的气动输送供应压力、喷嘴尺寸和注射量。这个项目将使加拿大的牙病患者受益，为他们提供更好和更便宜的治疗。它将加强加拿大的生物技术公司，并创造一种以加拿大为基础的技术，从而在世界局部麻醉输送市场上竞争，从而使加拿大经济受益。

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.