Rv

R. van Hoften

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Current treatments for inner ear disorders rely primarily on systemic drug administration, often resulting in sub-therapeutic drug concentrations and unwanted side effects. As an alternative, implantable drug-delivery devices have been proposed to enable targeted and sustained local delivery within the cochlea. This study characterizes the mechanical behavior of a novel photosensitive resin (IP-Q) and evaluates two implant designs, EarCube and BullEar, intended for fabrication by two-photon polymerization. Compression testing was used to determine the material properties of IP-Q, while finite element analysis (FEA) was employed to investigate the torsional behavior of the implants. The FEA model was experimentally validated using scaled-up stereolithography-printed EarCube specimens and accurately captured the linear torsional response. The validated model was subsequently applied to millimeter-scale implant designs fabricated from IP-Q. Comparison of the two implant concepts showed that the BullEar design exhibits substantially greater stiffness and mechanical strength than the EarCube, while variations in pore size had only a minor influence on mechanical performance. Based on these findings, the BullEar design is recommended for further development as a platform for local drug delivery to the inner ear. ...