Authors:
Pilar Lafont Morgado
1
;
Andrés Díaz Lantada
1
;
Héctor Lorenzo-Yustos
1
;
Julio Muñoz-García
1
;
Ignacio Rada Martínez
2
;
Antonio Jiménez Ramos
2
and
José Luis Hernández Riesco
2
Affiliations:
1
División de Ingeniería de Máquinas – E.T.S.I. Industriales – Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain
;
2
Hospital Gómez Ulla, Spain
Keyword(s):
Shape Memory Polymers (SMP), Mitral valve Insufficiency, Annuloplasty ring, Laser Stereolithography, Silicone mould vacuum casting, Biomaterials.
Related
Ontology
Subjects/Areas/Topics:
Biomaterials
;
Biomechanical Devices
;
Biomedical Engineering
;
Biomedical Instruments and Devices
;
Emerging Technologies
;
Telecommunications
;
Wireless and Mobile Technologies
;
Wireless Information Networks and Systems
Abstract:
Active materials are capable of responding in a controlled way to different external physical or chemical stimuli by changing some of their properties. These materials can be used to design and develop sensors, actuators and multifunctional systems with a large number of applications for developing medical devices. (for both surgery and implants). Shape memory polymers are active materials with thermo-mechanical coupling (changes in temperature induce shape changes) and a capacity to recover from high levels of distortion, (much greater than that shown by shape memory alloys), which combined with a lower density and cost has favoured the appearance of numerous applications. In many cases, these materials are of medical grade, which increases the chances of obtaining biocompatible devices. This paper presents the design, manufacture, “shape memory” programming process and in vitro trials of an active annuloplasty ring for the treatment of mitral valve insufficiency, developed by using
shape memory polymers. This has been done with the collaboration betweeen researchers from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and doctors from the Hospital General Central de la Defensa.
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