Understanding Jet-Tissue Interaction

PhD Project

Liquid drugs can be delivered through the skin without a needle using needle-free jet injection. This is achieved by forming the drug into a high-speed jet capable of penetrating through the skin and delivering itself to the underlying tissue. Successful penetration and delivery of a liquid jet depends strongly on how the injection device contacts the skin. Parameters such as the tension in the tissue, contact force, stand-off distance, jet angle, and relative motion have all been observed to have a strong influence on injection outcomes, however, very little is understood about how to best control these parameters to achieve consistent, successful drug delivery.

In this project we wish to investigate how liquid jets interact with tissue to understand how to best penetrate the skin for drug delivery. This will combine our highly controllable motor driven jet injection systems with soft tissue instrumentation techniques for measuring skin deformation and controlling biaxial tension. Penetration and delivery using liquid jets will be compared to needle and microneedle penetration. This understanding is crucial to achieve consistent and safe needle-free drug delivery.

Desired skills

  • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in engineering, physics, or similar.
  • Eager to learn and develop new skills.
  • An interest in bioinstrumentation, medical devices and measurement.

Contact and supervisors

For more information or to apply for this project, please follow the link to the main supervisor below:
 
  • Dr James McKeage (Main supervisor)
  • Professor Andrew Taberner
  • Professor Poul Nielsen

Page expires: 23 July 2024