While medical materials have come a long way toward treating conditions in the body, sometimes they are too stiff to be a perfect fit. Research at Texas A&M aims to engineer new biomaterials that provide effective treatment while also moving better with the body.
Dr. Taylor Ware is working on finding innovative material solutions to treat urinary incontinence — a condition denoted by any uncontrolled leakage of urine.
Treatment may include a surgical option in which a mesh sling is implanted underneath the urethra to provide support. This device has to balance between ensuring no leaking occurs throughout daily activities while also allowing for release when needed. Current slings are limited because the clinician has to find the perfect balance to ensure the patient doesn’t suffer unintended consequences.
Ware’s research aims to develop an adaptive device similar to human tissue using a type of material called liquid crystal elastomers. The team’s idea is to 3D print a material that will heat slightly and change shape when illuminated with infrared light, allowing a person to void their bladder easily. When the material cools, it returns to its original shape.
Ware said these types of biomaterials could open the door for a variety of applications in artificial muscle development, including surgical or wearable robots.
“We see these things as tools that can be reused in other areas where you might need mechanical motion in the human body, or perhaps even outside,” Ware said.
Dr. Taylor Ware collaborates with Dr. Philippe Zimmern, professor and clinical urologist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and biomedical engineering doctoral student Seelay Tasmin.
The research is funded by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering at the National Institutes of Health.
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