Ampoule and nozzle development for needle-free injections.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Fluid Dynamics
• Medical Device Design

Background:

• Jet injectors offer needle-free drug delivery.
• Current devices may lack consistent performance and flexibility.
• Optimizing nozzle design is crucial for controlled fluid delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and fabricate a novel, versatile ampoule platform for jet injectors.
• To evaluate the performance of different nozzle geometries for jet injection.
• To compare the new ampoule's efficacy against a commercial device.

Main Methods:

• Designed and fabricated a rigid, compact, multi-piece ampoule.
• Developed three nozzle inserts: single axial, radial, and intersecting jets.
• Utilized high-speed imaging for analysis.
• Conducted injections into tissue analog and ex vivo porcine tissue.

Main Results:

• The new ampoule platform demonstrated improved adherence to desired position and velocity trajectories compared to a commercial device.
• Three nozzle geometries were successfully fabricated and tested.
• Potential applications in intradermal, intratympanic, and traditional jet injections were shown.
• Energy efficiencies of jet ejections were compared.

Conclusions:

• The developed multi-piece ampoule provides a flexible and consistent platform for jet injection.
• The tested nozzle designs show promise for various targeted drug delivery applications.
• This innovation offers potential improvements over existing jet injection technologies.