A novel and proprietary cosmetic injection instrument for delivery of botulinum toxin (including Botox and Dysport) has been developed by Milestone Scientific Inc. (Livingston, N.J.).
Dr. Hochman“We were interested in changing the way subcutaneous drug delivery ‘shots’ were performed,” says Mark Hochman, D.D.S., director of clinical affairs for the company. “We understood this technique, yet the technology had not undergone any major advancement in over 160 years, when doctors started to use the syringe to administer an injection.”
The cosmetic instrument is composed of two main components: a computer-controlled drug delivery unit and a handpiece.
The drive unit consists of a touch-screen interface that is the size of an iPad mini. “This allows the doctor or assistant to effortlessly input patient information and operate the instrument,” Dr. Hochman tells The Aesthetic Channel.
A standard 1 mm syringe is loaded into the drive unit. Then, by using a feather-lightweight handpiece with a pen-like grasp, the clinician “can precisely identify the location to perform the injection,” says Dr. Hochman.
The product concept, which is still being validated, “is that with a single touch of a button on the handpiece, the precise amount of drug is administered at a rate and pressure below the patient pain threshold, thus providing a virtually painless injection of a precise amount of drug,” Dr. Hochman explains.
Dr. Hochman says the precision of drug can be controlled to a single drop of medication.
Afterward, the touchscreen “allows the doctor to enter the precise location of the injection on a graphical interface, which records both location and the amount of units delivered, bringing record-keeping into the digital age,” Dr. Hochman asserts.
A graphical printout can also be provided, if necessary.
One technical challenge in developing the cosmetic instrument was to minimize any waste of the drug, which was accomplished by creating new micro-bore tubing.
The company also had to develop special software that automatically calculates the dilution of each drug for different reconstitution ratios. “Although it sounds complex, we were able to simplify the calculation, so that anyone can easily determine the correct amount for each patient,” Dr. Hochman says.
Overall, the cosmetic instrument “brings the experience of Botox injections to a new level of sophistication, precision and comfort,” Dr. Hochman states.
Milestone Scientific expects to receive regulatory clearance to sell the instrument in Europe in late 2018 or early 2019, followed by approval in the U.S. in mid-to-late 2019.
