Development and Performance of a Controllable Autoloading Needle-Free Jet Injector

A jet injector platform technology that provides improved performance over existing jet injectors through the use of a controllable linear Lorentz-force actuator and software-based control system has been developed. Injectors designed on this platform are capable of delivering injections using arbitrary pressure pulse shaping. Pulse shaping has been shown to allow a wide degree of control over the depth to which the injection is delivered. A software-based injector control system improves repeatability and allows for automatic reloading of the injector, a task that would be difficult to implement using existing jet injector platforms. A design for a prototype autoloading controllable jet injector (cJI) based on this platform is detailed. The injection capability of this cJI was evaluated both in-vitro and in-vivo using a tissue analog, excised porcine tissue, and ovine tissue. An analysis of the cJI's performance indicates that this design is capable of delivering a controllable volume of fluid to a controllable depth based entirely on the parameter's input into the control software. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4003330]