Dr. AR Wingnutte, PhD
2014-10-08 19:00:31 UTC
Student invents sinus-relief device
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/sinus-637606-archbold-device.html
BY SHERRI CRUZ / STAFF WRITER
Published: Oct. 7, 2014 Updated: Oct. 8, 2014 9:24 a.m.
sinurelief-engineering-si
JOSH BARBER, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
CSUF mechanical engineering student Scott Archbold has designed a product that's nothing to sneeze at.
The junior hopes his invention, which helps alleviate sinus problems, will be sold in stores one day.
It took about a year to develop his prototype, called SinuRelief, which looks like a pen and operates on a battery. The device's foam tip is coated with saline and vibrates when it is turned on. The tip is inserted into a person's nose to massage the sinus drainage holes.
"Massaging them spreads the saline in that area and breaks up hardened mucous, allowing you to get rid of mucous and sinus pressure," said Archbold, who lives in Dana Point.
He designed the pen-like device after a bout of sickness led to an acute sinus infection and forced him to leave school for a semester.
"Whenever I get sick, it triggers my sinuses to start acting up," Archbold said. He used medicated sprays, but those led to a severe nose bleed, which required cauterization.
It wasn't a pleasant experience, but it got him thinking. He and his father both have sinus troubles, and they manually massage their sinus drainage holes while in the shower. That can be cumbersome for Archbold.
"My finger is too big for my nose," he said. So he made the tip of his device small enough to reach the sinus drainage holes. "We're trying to make something comfortable that people will use."
He created the tool based on current sinus therapy concepts, such as the neti pot. With a neti pot, users tip their head and pour a solution of saline and water directly into one nostril and let it flow out the other.
The problem with using this type of sinus device every day, Archbold said, is that it washes away mucous naturally produced by the body to get rid of allergens. Mucous is good and bad. "You don't want to get rid of all of it," he said.
Archbold said his product is meant to improve on the neti pot by limiting the amount of saline in the nose, so it's not washing away all mucous, only breaking it up.
He made the prototype from things a mustache trimmer. He said he hopes to improve the product by making different tips, including ones that generate heat and an aroma-therapy version.
The device has received Food and Drug Administration approval, Archbold said. It needed only a minimum level of approval because it's considered non-invasive, on the level of a cotton swab, he said.
The plan is to sell the device for about $25 to $30. Customers can buy the handle and then purchase different tips separately. The foam tips are meant to be used only once.
Archbold's father, John, is helping him on the business end of things, including funding and patents. The two have a business name, Evidence Based Medicine Inc.
Archbold recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $120,000. With funding, he will conduct clinical tests on the device. To see how Sinu-Relief works, visit kickstarter.com/projects/255799887/sinurelief.
Contact the writer: ***@ocregister.com
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/sinus-637606-archbold-device.html
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/sinus-637606-archbold-device.html
BY SHERRI CRUZ / STAFF WRITER
Published: Oct. 7, 2014 Updated: Oct. 8, 2014 9:24 a.m.
sinurelief-engineering-si
JOSH BARBER, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
CSUF mechanical engineering student Scott Archbold has designed a product that's nothing to sneeze at.
The junior hopes his invention, which helps alleviate sinus problems, will be sold in stores one day.
It took about a year to develop his prototype, called SinuRelief, which looks like a pen and operates on a battery. The device's foam tip is coated with saline and vibrates when it is turned on. The tip is inserted into a person's nose to massage the sinus drainage holes.
"Massaging them spreads the saline in that area and breaks up hardened mucous, allowing you to get rid of mucous and sinus pressure," said Archbold, who lives in Dana Point.
He designed the pen-like device after a bout of sickness led to an acute sinus infection and forced him to leave school for a semester.
"Whenever I get sick, it triggers my sinuses to start acting up," Archbold said. He used medicated sprays, but those led to a severe nose bleed, which required cauterization.
It wasn't a pleasant experience, but it got him thinking. He and his father both have sinus troubles, and they manually massage their sinus drainage holes while in the shower. That can be cumbersome for Archbold.
"My finger is too big for my nose," he said. So he made the tip of his device small enough to reach the sinus drainage holes. "We're trying to make something comfortable that people will use."
He created the tool based on current sinus therapy concepts, such as the neti pot. With a neti pot, users tip their head and pour a solution of saline and water directly into one nostril and let it flow out the other.
The problem with using this type of sinus device every day, Archbold said, is that it washes away mucous naturally produced by the body to get rid of allergens. Mucous is good and bad. "You don't want to get rid of all of it," he said.
Archbold said his product is meant to improve on the neti pot by limiting the amount of saline in the nose, so it's not washing away all mucous, only breaking it up.
He made the prototype from things a mustache trimmer. He said he hopes to improve the product by making different tips, including ones that generate heat and an aroma-therapy version.
The device has received Food and Drug Administration approval, Archbold said. It needed only a minimum level of approval because it's considered non-invasive, on the level of a cotton swab, he said.
The plan is to sell the device for about $25 to $30. Customers can buy the handle and then purchase different tips separately. The foam tips are meant to be used only once.
Archbold's father, John, is helping him on the business end of things, including funding and patents. The two have a business name, Evidence Based Medicine Inc.
Archbold recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $120,000. With funding, he will conduct clinical tests on the device. To see how Sinu-Relief works, visit kickstarter.com/projects/255799887/sinurelief.
Contact the writer: ***@ocregister.com
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/sinus-637606-archbold-device.html