Assessment of needle tip geometry during infusions into a brain phantom gel

• Orozco, Gustavo ^[1] ; Casanova, Fernando ^[2] ; Garcia, Jose Jaime ^[2]
  1. [1] University of Eastern Finland

     University of Eastern Finland

     Kuopio, Finlandia

     
  2. [2] Universidad del Valle (Colombia)

     Universidad del Valle (Colombia)

     Colombia

     
• Localización: Scientia et Technica, ISSN 0122-1701, Vol. 25, Nº. 4, 2020, págs. 616-620
• Idioma: inglés
• Enlaces
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• Resumen

  • Convection-enhanced delivery (CED) is a promising method to deliver therapeutic drugs directly into the brain that has shown limited efficacy, mainly attributed to backflow, in which the infused drug flows back along the needle track rather than forward into tissue. This study evaluates the effect of sharp and blunt needle tips on backflow length under different flow rates via CED. Infusions were performed in a transparent 0.6% (w/v) brain phantom agarose hydrogel. Backflow length was significantly higher using sharp-tip needles for higher flow rates. No significant differences were observed between tip shapes for lower flow rates. In conclusion, sharp-tip needles present limitations for higher flow rates, which are needed to deliver more drug during shortest times.