Release date: 2017-02-06
The new study found that this soft cup-shaped mechanism can hold the heart and help it pump blood to the body, reducing the stress on patients with heart function defects.
The device is designed to restore the heart's pumping function with the help of mechanical external forces for those who are experiencing heart problems. According to information from the American Heart Association, about 5.7 million people in the United States are experiencing heart problems, and the country will pay $30.7 billion annually.
At present, the doctor's solution to this problem is mainly to use a device called a ventricular assist device. The device includes a mechanical pump that is implanted in the abdomen or worn on the body, while the mechanical pump links the heart through several catheters. The main purpose is to help the blood circulation, but it will directly contact the blood, which may lead to blood clots. Conversely, side effects are a risk of death or severe stroke. Between this potential threat, patients must take anti-coagulant drugs that dilute the blood to resolve possible bleeding.
The new device looks more like a heart-shaped device, so it doesn't have to touch the blood, reducing the number of complications.
The material of the device is elastic silicone, which is used to mimic the flexibility of natural heart muscles. The researchers said that when filled with air, the implant will become more balloon-like, harden after pressurization, and decompression will relax. Of course, it is also equipped with a pressure sensor to monitor the pressure in real time.
A thin sleeve with a suction device is stitched to the heart, the gel surface acts to reduce friction, and the external air pump is responsible for inflating it to provide pressure.
Thin-sleeve devices may be the latest research in the field of soft robots. On the contrary, traditional mechanical devices are rigid, and researchers are working on making mechanical devices such as elastic plastics, rubber, etc. with more soft materials. These are also more suitable for subtle interactions with the human body.
In experiments conducted on pigs, the researchers found that their soft mechanical devices allowed the six sows that had their heart to stop to return to normal blood flow.
Conor Walsh, a soft robot expert at Harvard University in the United States, said in an interview that the study showed us the potential advantages of implantable soft mechanical devices to repair organ function.
Scientists can also customize the device so that it aligns the left or right side of the heart, which is also critical, because usually heart problems affect only parts of the heart.
In future research, we can find the most suitable method for implanting the device into the human body, allowing it to operate in the human body for a longer period of time. In long-term animal experiments, we need to understand the endurance of the equipment and whether they can cause unforeseen complications.
The study was published online in the January 18 issue of Science Translational Medicine.
Source: Omelette Net
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