Artificial muscle: the human chimera is the future

Abstract

Severe heart failure and cerebral stroke are broadly associated with the impairment of muscular function that conventional treatments struggle to restore. New technologies enable the construction of "smart" materials that could be of great help in treating diseases where the main problem is muscle weakness. These materials "behave" similarly to biological systems, because the material directly converts energy, for example electrical energy into movement. The extension and contraction occur silently like in natural muscles. The real challenge is to transfer this amazing technology into devices that restore or replace the mechanical function of failing muscle. Cardiac assist devices based on artificial muscle technology could envelope a weak heart and temporarily improve its systolic function, or, if placed on top of the atrium, restore the atrial kick in chronic atrial fibrillation. Artificial sphincters could be used to treat urinary incontinence after prostatectomy or faecal incontinence associated with stomas. Artificial muscles can restore the ability of patients with facial paralysis due to stroke or nerve injury to blink. Smart materials could be used to construct an artificial oesophagus including peristaltic movement and lower oesophageal sphincter function to replace the diseased oesophagus thereby avoiding the need for laparotomy to mobilise stomach or intestine. In conclusion, in the near future, smart devices will integrate with the human body to fill functional gaps due to organ failure, and so create a human chimera.

Development of Light-Responsive Liquid Crystalline Elastomers to Assist Cardiac Contraction

“…Atrial function could be also assisted by atrial-specific epicardial devices. 2 Finally, thanks to the patient-designed 3-dimensional printing, our material could advance cardiac surgery, for example, to replace damaged papillary muscles or to seal large ventricular or septal defects. 39 The demonstrated versatility in the modulation of LCE mechanical properties obtained by changing the molecular parameters and the actuation stimuli may also allow us to match the features of skeletal or smooth muscles, thus extending this technology to noncardiac applications.…”

“…For example, they may serve as cardiac assist devices, to assist the ventricular systolic function of a failing heart. 2…”

Artificial Muscle Devices: Innovations and Prospects for Fecal Incontinence Treatment

“… 39 Thus, NiTi is used for medical applications including orthopedics, orthodontics, and cardiovascular treatments. 61 Hence, one can find attempts to take advantage from SMAs for artificial sphincter devices. 1 The challenge is to identify a design, which allows for switching within seconds with reasonable energy consumption.…”

New Insights in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Heart Failure

“…Several designs are under study [ 119 – 123 ]. One of them is based on a configuration where the Nitinol wires could be weaved on a tissue or a membrane that would be in direct contact with the heart walls.…”