Project Overview

OnabotulinumtoxinA (commonly known as BOTOX) and other fillers are injected beneath the skin of the face for cosmetic surgery. Last year alone, more than 3.5 million cosmetic BOTOX procedures were performed. Each BOTOX treatment is extremely localized to its injection site and lasts approximately 3 months, the toxin flushed out of the body over time. Although these injections are minimally invasive and relatively short, patients often complain of the pain and bruising amid and post treatment. Doctors are currently attempting to reduce patient discomfort by employing both mechanical stimulations to distract the nerve endings in the face and/or the application of cold temperatures upon the face. Many patients find these methods bothersome and complain that the vibrations (measured in Hz) are too harsh. In addition, a single doctor is unable to provide both cooling and vibrations without the help of another practitioner. With the average cost of each BOTOX treatment amounting between $350 and $500, a device is desired to increase patient comfort throughout the procedure and enable a single doctor to perform the procedure. The goal of this project is to design a device that covers the injection sites of the face and incorporates a cooling element, which reduces the skin temperature from 33 degrees celsius to 10-15 degrees celsius, and incorporates a mechanical stimulation element, operating at a frequency of approximately 300 vibrations per minute, 5Hz, to physiologically distract the patient from the pain of injection.

Team Picture

Contact Information

Team Members

• Yaniv Sadka - Team Leader
• Joshua Begale - Communicator
• Ethan Nethery - BSAC
• Hannah Cook - BWIG
• Hannah Bennett - BPAG

Advisor and Client

• Prof. Randolph Ashton - Advisor
• Dr. Ahmed Afifi - Client
• Lisa Block - Alternate Contact

Related Projects

• Spring 2017: Facial Injection Analgesic Device
• Fall 2016: Facial Injection Analgesic Device