I started working on the design and manufacturing of nasal plugs which will aim to increase nasal resistance, increase airflow velocity and therefore increase WSS and ultimately nasal sensation. For the moment I have designed and manufactured a first fairly small prototype, the cylinders are 4 mm in diameter so that it can enter my nasal cavity. I am currently working on other shapes and other sizes which I will present later in the article.
I have 3 constraints for the choice of materials.
So after a lot of research I found this material.
It is a biodegradable material made with oyster shell powder, it is certified endocrine disruptors free and it has a shore hardness of 93A which is flexible but still a bit hard. But it is not certified for contact with mucosa yet, I asked Nanovia about that and they said that they have not the certificate but it is possible to have it certified if I want and I pay for that.
I'm still searching a softness material certified biocompatible, but it is not easy to find.
I designed two different shapes, one cylindrical and the other oblong.
The oblong shape aims to fill more space of the nasal cavity while maintaining the possibility of entering in it. Indeed the anterior part of the nasal cavity can be narrow.
For each shape I designed 2 sizes, one in 4 mm of diameter and a length of the tips of 12 mm.
The other with the diameter of 5 mm and the length of the tips of 20 mm. So 4 versions in total. But of course I can design what I want. It is just the the beginning of the project.
