Medical Design Briefs - March 2024 - 29

Design Briefs
Producing a Magic Wand for Pain-Free Dental
Treatments
A high-quality acrylic-based plastic is used for single-use components.
By Michael Zadrozny, Röhm
S
ome people do not go the dentist
for a fear of syringes, thereby
risking a worsening of untreated
tooth damage. However, some dental
practices offer patients a gentle alternative
- a device for computer-controlled,
pain-free local anesthesia,
which its developers fittingly call a
magic wand: The Wand - STA System
from Milestone Scientific. For the past
25 years, the U.S.-based company specializing
in injection technology has
been manufacturing the system's single-use
components from CYROLITE®by
Röhm - a high-quality, transparent,
acrylic-based plastic especially for medical
applications.
Proven Material for Medical
Technology
All types of CYROLITE® meet the
stringent USP Class VI material standard
and the ISO 10993-1 standard for plastics
used in pharmaceutical and medical
technology. They are free from bisphenol
A, are biocompatible and have ultra-low
extractables and leachables characteristics
in addition to great chemical
resistance.
" CYROLITE®
molding
compounds
are used to manufacture diagnostic
equipment, as well as disposable devices
such as IV connectors, Y-sites, and
Luer locks, catheter components, filter
housings, and syringes. Two parts of the
handpiece of The Wand STA are also
made of CYROLITE®: the cartridge for
the anesthetic container, which is secured
in the device by a bayonet lock,
and the applicator, a roughly 20-cm-long
(8-in.) thin tube at the end of which is a
thin injection needle.
For Injections Without Pressure Pain
STA stands for Single Tooth Anesthesia®
System. The device not only
allows pain-free injections, but also
the precise anesthetization of individual
teeth. This offers the benefit that
once the treatment has ended, largMedical
Design Briefs, March 2024
Two parts of the handpiece of The Wand STA are also made of CYROLITE®: the cartridge for the anesthetic container
and the applicator.
er sections of the jaw including the
cheeks are not numb for several hours.
According to Milestone Scientific, the
entire procedure is more comfortable
for patients than conventional syringe
injections.
Although all dentists are likely convinced
that they can carry out painfree
injections by hand, pushing the
injection liquid into human tissue can
cause enormous pressure. This is the
painful burst-effect so many patients
are afraid of. The slower the injection
is applied, the lower the level of pain.
When local anesthesia is applied with
a syringe, patients must rely on the
intuition and sensitivity of the treating
physician. With the STA system,
the computer controls the optimal
needle position, exit pressure of tip
of the needle and the flow rate of the
anesthetic so precisely and evenly that
patients hardly notice what is happening.
The dentist must merely guide the
applicator with the cannula to the injection
site and activate the device via
a foot pedal.
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CYROLITE® Enables Light Yet Stable
Components
Compared to the bulky cylinder ampule
syringes with stainless steel housing,
The Wand - STA System's applicator
made of CYROLITE® is as light as
a feather. The injection device is easy
to handle thanks to its low weight and
pen-like shape. Like other dental instruments,
dentists can hold the long,
thin " magic wand " between three fingertips
and execute precise birotational
movements.
Milestone Scientific offers specific
handpieces for all commonly used anesthesia
technologies. Applicators with
flexible length adjustments have proven
especially practical: These models with
tubes made of CYROLITE® have multiple
notches (predetermined breaking
points) and can be shortened by snapping
them off. This is convenient when
applying a local anesthesia to numb the
front teeth and makes it easier to treat
children and nervous patients.
" Dentists can hide the end with the
needle in their hand and numb the
29

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Medical Design Briefs - March 2024

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