Testing the Limits: How Our Novel Nasal Delivery Device Performs at High Altitude
Author: Megan Alvarez, Device Engineer, Rocket Science Health
Getting medicine from the nose to the brain is a problem the industry has struggled with for decades. One of the major challenges is getting sufficient dose to the olfactory cleft, high in the nasal cavity, which is the doorway to the nose-to-brain pathway. Patients who depend on this route of administration to receive the effective dose in the brain need confidence that they are delivering the correct amount, every time. To date, nasal and nose-to-brain delivery technology that has its origins in nasal spray has not delivered on this requirement. At Rocket Science Health, we approached this problem from the ground up and have built novel technology to overcome this barrier. Here, we provide you with a window into our medical device technology innovation work (and the engineers behind the work) to illustrate 'the small details' through a specific test sequence we recently ran.
Air pressure is one of those details: as you go higher in altitude, air pressure drops. That matters for our device, which uses an innovative burst of compressed air to deliver medicine through the nose and to the brain. Whether you're on a ski weekend in the mountains or live in a high-altitude town like Leadville, Colorado, at 10,000 ft, the highest incorporated city in the US, you need a device that works the same way every time.
Because we understand that incorporating this burst of compressed air could be affected by changes in ambient air pressure, we recently completed another round of simulated high-altitude testing, and we want to share how we did it and what we learned.
How we tested it
To mimic high altitude, we placed the device inside a sealed vacuum chamber and pumped out air until the pressure matched what you'd find in the mountains. The catch is that once the chamber is sealed, nobody can reach in to use the device.
So we built a small robotic setup to do it for us. Three motors handle each step a person normally would: one gets the device ready, one builds up the air pressure inside it, and one presses the "go" button to release the dose. A small computer tells each motor exactly when and how far to move.
That left one last puzzle: how do you tell the robot to start from outside a thick, airtight box? Running wires through the wall could let air leak in, and many wireless signals struggle to pass through the heavy acrylic. Our answer was surprisingly simple: a laser pointer. We shine a few flashes of light at a light sensor inside the chamber, and the device fires on cue.
What we found
The device performed consistently at pressures equivalent to 10,000 feet of elevation, including the extra pressure drops that stormy weather can bring. It reliably delivered medicine to the upper nasal cavity, the area it's designed to reach, and released the right amount every time.
Simulated high-altitude device testing set up. See it in action.
Watch our setup at work inside the sealed vacuum chamber. A few flashes from a laser pointer trigger the motors to prime, pressurize, and fire the device, all at pressures equivalent to 10,000 feet. This deposition test used a 100 µL dose of a water-like (1 cP) formulation, achieving the ~85% olfactory deposition we expect.
Our team will keep pushing the device through tougher conditions, because performing reliably for patients means proving it before they ever need it.
About Megan
Megan holds a degree in Biomechanical Engineering from Marquette University and has spent more than 10 years designing and testing nasal delivery devices in the medical device industry. When she's not at the office, Megan can be found hanging out with her husband, son, and cat (who kindly lent her laser pointer for this project). Megan enjoys knitting, reading, and spending time in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
About Rocket Science Health
Rocket Science Health, founded by Canadian business leader Kenneth Irving, develops precision drug delivery technologies focused on brain-targeted therapeutics and vaccines. Our needle-free intranasal device enables non-clinical self-administration for at-home care of brain related conditions from CNS to mental health; emergency rescue, and mass immunization. Its fluidics are specifically engineered for today's delicate biologics and dose-dependent drugs. As a team, we are driven to create innovations that expand access to care — especially for under-resourced communities and for individuals who face physical, cognitive, or challenging care environments where thoughtful design can improve health outcomes.
Contact: hello@rocketscience.health
