“An Oil-Infused Silicone Tympanostomy Tube as a Novel Treatment for Recurrent Otitis Media”
Arin Stowman, S.B. ’19, bioengineering
Advisor: Joanna Aizenberg, Amy Smith Berylson Professor of Materials Science and Professor of Chemistry & Chemical Biology
Each year, more than 700 million people worldwide suffer from otitis media, inflammation of the middle ear. Treatment for this inflammation often involves the insertion of tympanostomy tubes across the eardrum to help deliver antibiotics into the middle ear. To improve drug delivery, Stowman created a tube from a novel, oil-infused silicone elastomer that prevents medication from becoming stuck in the tube. The unique tube architecture also optimizes the flow of antibiotics into the middle ear. The biggest challenges she faced involved using modeling software and 3D printers to effectively develop prototypes, especially since her devices had to be casted with medical grade silicone.
“Hopefully through my work and the lab's work overall, millions of people who have tympanostomy tubes inserted annually will be able to get better delivery of antibiotics to the middle ear space to treat the infections that required them to get the tubes inserted in the first place,” she said.