Document Detail


The challenges in artificial muscle research to treat incontinence.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  19918697     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Sphincters to guarantee continence are in principal the simplest muscles, because only two states (closed and open) seem to be important. The healthy urinary sphincter, however, provides dynamic components. During the filling phase the increase in tonus prevents urinary loss. The sphincter rapidly responds to pressure pulses caused, for example, by coughing. Contemporary artificial sphincters, however, merely generate two states and often induce atrophy and erosion. Hence the success of commercially available, continually improved implants is still limited. This communication reviews two physical principles, shape memory alloys and electrically activated polymer nanostructures, for applications in artificial sphincters which adapt the pressure acting on the urethra and react to stress situations such as coughing. The application of these principles allows intermittent reduction of pressure on the urethra, thus involving significantly less atrophy. The fabrication of reliably working nanostructures, however, is ambitious and will need time-consuming, high-level engineering.
Authors:
Bert Müller; Hans Deyhle; Shpend Mushkolaj; Marco Wieland
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Review    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Swiss medical weekly     Volume:  139     ISSN:  1424-7860     ISO Abbreviation:  Swiss Med Wkly     Publication Date:  2009 Oct 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2009-11-17     Completed Date:  2009-12-18     Revised Date:  2011-02-15    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  100970884     Medline TA:  Swiss Med Wkly     Country:  Switzerland    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  591-5     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Biomaterials Science Center, University of Basel, c/o University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland. bert.mueller@unibas.ch
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Alloys
Equipment Design
Humans
Nanotechnology*
Polymers
Urinary Incontinence / therapy*
Urinary Sphincter, Artificial*
Chemical
Reg. No./Substance:
0/Alloys; 0/Polymers

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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