Case study of user experience-driven design in a new local anaesthetic dentistry jet injection device

This case study explored how human-centred design methodologies can improve clinician experience and reduce patient treatment anxiety in the application of a new dental local anaesthetic jet-injection system. An initial embodiment of the prototype injector, dubbed the 'Kiwi' injector, was developed to better understand the user experience during dental-injection procedures. Further design development was undertaken in two distinct phases. Stage one entailed the initial non-functional Kiwi injector model being used as a design probe to explore clinician views on its aesthetics and ergonomics. The second stage explored the clinician and patient experiences of the functional Kiwi Injector while administering a local anaesthetic to the patient. Stage one findings highlighted clinician satisfaction with the aesthetics of the non-functional prototype device but expressed the desire to make the device smaller. Stage two clinical study results highlighted an issue with the functional jet injector configuration, where the participating dental clinicians speculated that a greater bend in the wand and change of trigger position would significantly improve the Kiwi injector ergonomic performance. This research has demonstrated the benefits of applying a structured and staged human-centred user experience design process to inform the design of a new dental anaesthetic delivery device.