title: Magnetically Controlled Endourethral Artificial Urinary Sphincter.
abstract: Urinary incontinence is a largely spread disfunction that affects more than 300 million people worldwide. At present, no technological solutions are able to restore continence in a minimally invasive and effective way. In this article the authors report the design, fabrication, and testing of a novel artificial endourethral urinary sphincter able to fully restore continence. The device can be inserted/retracted in a minimally invasive fashion without hospital admission, does not alter the body scheme and can be applied to both women and men. The device core is a unidirectional polymeric valve and a magnetically activated system able to modulate its opening pressure. Bench tests and ex vivo tests on a human cadaver demonstrated that the device is able to fully restore continence and to allow urination when desired. Overall, the proposed system shows a high potential as a technological solution able to restore a normal daily life in patients affected by urinary incontinence.
authors.affiliation: The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio, 34, 56025, Pontedera, PI, Italy.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mazzocchi
authors.affiliation: The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio, 34, 56025, Pontedera, PI, Italy. leonardo.ricotti@santannapisa.it.
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ricotti
authors.affiliation: Urology Department, University of Siena, Via Banchi di Sotto, 55, 53100, Siena, Italy.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pinzi
authors.affiliation: The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio, 34, 56025, Pontedera, PI, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Menciassi
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D060526:Magnetic Fields; D008297:Male; D014549:Urinary Incontinence / Q000628:therapy*; D016741:Urinary Sphincter, Artificial; D014554:Urination
keywords: Artificial sphincter; Magnetic device; Minimally invasive therapy; Unidirectional valve; Urinary incontinence