Lorentz-force actuated needle-free injection for intratympanic pharmaceutical delivery

Abstract

Delivery of pharmaceuticals to the inner ear via injection through the tympanic membrane is a method of local drug delivery that provides a non-invasive, outpatient procedure to treat many of the disorders and diseases that plague the inner ear. The real-time controlled linear Lorentz-force actuated jet injector developed in the MIT BioInstrumentation lab was found to be a feasible technology for possible improvement over current intratympanic drug delivery methods. Jet injection holes using a nozzle with a 50 [mu]m orifice were found to be significantly smaller than those made using a standard, 0.31 mm (30-gauge) hypodermic needle. The feasibility of using the jet injector to deliver drug to the inner ear with less tissue damage than seen in standard procedures is shown offering an avenue for improved inner ear drug delivery methods and technology.