Artificial esophagus with peristaltic movement.
In this study, we have developed an artificial esophagus simulating peristaltic movement with the use of a nickel-titanium shape memory alloy (NiTi-SMA) actuator. Serial pairs of NiTi-SMAs were placed around a Gore-Tex vascular graft in a helical position such that they obliterated the lumen of the vessel when they contracted. In an animal experiment using a goat, the cervical esophagus was resected over a length of approximately 20 cm. The artificial esophagus was anastomosed with the remaining cervical esophagus. When a direct current of 500 mA at 5 V was applied to the NiTi-SMAs, the first pair of the NiTi-SMA contracted. The following pairs of the NiTi-SMAs contracted consecutively. The entire contraction of the artificial esophagus was similar to the esophageal peristaltic movement observed by x-ray examination in humans. The results showed the possibility that the artificial esophagus could function as an artificial esophagus having peristaltic movement.
Watanabe
Makoto
M
Department of Medical Engineering and Cardiology, Institute of Development, Aging, and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
Sekine
Kazumitsu
K
Hori
Yoshio
Y
Shiraishi
Yasuyuki
Y
Maeda
Takeshi
T
Honma
Dai
D
Miyata
Go
G
Saijo
Yoshifumi
Y
Yambe
Tomoyuki
T
D000714:Anastomosis, Surgical; D000818:Animals; D001187:Artificial Organs; D004560:Electricity; D004867:Equipment Design; D004947:Esophagus / Q000601:surgery; D006041:Goats; D019563:Mechanics; D010528:Peristalsis