New Jersey Health Foundation/The Nicholson Foundation award $50,000 grant to advance a device to promote less traumatic tooth removal

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., Dec. 16, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Antonio Valdevit, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry and Biological Sciences at Stevens Institute of Technology, has received a $50,000 Innovation Grant from New Jersey Health Foundation/The Nicholson Foundation to advance research into a medical device that could reduce local trauma and improve outcomes for people requiring tooth extractions, announced James M. Golubieski, president of New Jersey Health Foundation.

The technology can be particularly important for people needing dental implants or for anyone who must avoid the risk of oral bleeding due to underlying medical conditions.

"Tooth extraction has been relatively unchanged for decades," explained George F. Heinrich, M.D., vice chair and CEO of New Jersey Health Foundation. "With the advent of numbing agents to reduce patient pain, the procedure has undergone little innovation with the exception of instrument refinement.  This novel technology employs vibration to loosen and extract teeth while reducing local trauma."

Dr. Valdevit has identified a mechanism that employs vibratory motion to loosen the tooth with a piezoelectric actuator that can be incorporated into existing instruments currently used in the dental field. 

"Current methods of extraction result in significant recovery time due to local trauma," Dr. Valdevit explains. "And in some cases, neighboring teeth may be subject to damage.  Our method of vibratory extraction will reduce or eliminate the need for surgical cutting of soft tissue and significantly reduce the mechanical forces needed to extract the tooth."

According to Dr. Valdevit, not only is the technology useful for humans, but also for tooth extractions necessary in the veterinary field.

For more information, contact Mike Wiley, vice president, at (908) 731-6612 or [email protected]. 

About New Jersey Health Foundation
New Jersey Health Foundation (www.njhf.org) is a not-for-profit corporation that supports biomedical research and health-related education programs in New Jersey through its matching program, its Grants Program and its affiliate, Foundation Venture Capital Group (www.foundationventure.com) which makes private equity investments in life science start- up companies in New Jersey headed toward commercialization.

About Stevens Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology, The Innovation University®, is a premier, private research university situated in Hoboken, N.J. overlooking the Manhattan skyline. Founded in 1870, technological innovation has been the hallmark and legacy of Stevens' education and research programs for more than 140 years. Within the university's three schools and one college, more than 6,300 undergraduate and graduate students collaborate with more than 380 faculty members in an interdisciplinary, student-centric, entrepreneurial environment to advance the frontiers of science and leverage technology to confront global challenges. Stevens is home to four national research centers of excellence, as well as joint research programs focused on critical industries such as healthcare, energy, finance, defense, maritime security, STEM education and coastal sustainability. The university is consistently ranked among the nation's elite for return on investment for students, career services programs and mid-career salaries of alumni. Stevens is in the midst of a 10-year strategic plan, The Future. Ours to Create, designed to further extend the Stevens legacy to create a forward-looking and far-reaching institution with global impact.

SOURCE New Jersey Health Foundation

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