Senior Design
BMME 697 and BMME 698
My Senior Design group developed DeltaDose–a disposable, hand-held device for delivering an atomized metered dose of medication intranasally. DeltaDose provides non-medically trained personnel a way to safely administer medication in emergency situations.
According to the Tactical Combat Casualty Care (tCCC) Guidelines , which dictate procedures for Special Forces military medics to provide pre-hospital care on the field, intranasal Ketamine is the recommended treatment for moderate to severe pain, with an additional dose administered every thirty minutes.
Current Method of Delivering Intranasal Medication
With the current method, the medic must attach a needle to a syringe, remove the needle’s safety sheath, draw up the desired dose from the vial, remove the needle from the syringe, dispose of the needle, attach an atomizer tip to the syringe, insert the atomizer tip into the nostril, and briskly compress the syringe plunger to deliver the dose. To administer additional doses, all steps must be repeated.
Current Nasal Atomization Procedure
This method is severely limited by the time required to complete this nasal atomization procedure. Under the time sensitive situations such as those faced on the battlefield, every second wasted can place the patient, medic, and patients awaiting treatment in additional danger. Furthermore, dosing accuracy is dependent upon the skill and training of the medic. Particularly under unstable pre-hospital conditions, there is no way to ensure accurate dosing. Finally, the medic is exposed to the risk of needle-sticks numerous times in the process of completing this procedure. Therefore, intranasal medications need to be more effectively administered in a pre-hospital care setting.
Our Solution
DeltaDose is designed to streamline the process of intranasal drug delivery from a nine step procedure to a three step procedure and reduce the medication administration time by over 80%. The disposable device eliminates the need for a syringe to dose medication, and thus increases accuracy. Additionally, the device reduces medic exposure to open needles, minimizing potential needlesticks. By combining medical and hardware expertise, the device is more efficient than existing technology, while still delivering an accurate dose of medication.
DeltaDose Atomization Procedure
DeltaDose is comprised of two moving parts. The user should attach the vial and patient interface disposable prior to use. To operate the device, the user places a thumb through the loophole of the bottom part and releases the device into the open position. This motion draws medication into the device. Next, the user should pinch the fingers together, compressing the device. This motion simultaneously delivers a dose of medication and prepares the device to draw the next dose. Releasing the fingers once again re-fills the next dose. This process may be repeated to deliver additional doses.
DeltaDose’s unique characteristics give it a large advantage over the current method. Because the device snaps directly onto the medication vial, the tedious assembly of the current method is avoided and does not need to be repeated.