Robotic Device Restores Esophageal Wavelike Muscular Function

Help may soon be on the way for people with peristalsis problems.

Vanderbilt University researchers have developed a wirelessly activated device that mimics the wavelike muscular function in the esophagus and small intestine responsible for transporting food and viscous fluids for digestion.
 
The soft-robotic prototype, driven by strong magnets controlled by a wearable external actuator, could possibly help patients suffering from blockages caused by tumors or those requiring stents. For example, traditional esophageal stents are metal tubes used in patients with esophageal cancer, mostly in an aging population. These patients risk food being blocked from entering the stomach, potentially causing a dangerous situation where food instead enters the lung.
 
Restoring the natural motion of peristalsis—the wavelike muscular transport function that occurs inside tubular human organs—“paves the way for next-generation robotic medical devices to improve the quality of life especially for the aging population,” researchers wrote in a new paper describing the device. The paper appeared in the journal Advanced Functional Materials.
 
The study was led by Xiaoguang Dong, assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering in collaboration with Vanderbilt University Medical Center colleague Dr. Rishi Naik, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition.
 
The device consists of a soft sheet of small magnets arrayed in parallel rows that are activated in a precise undulating motion, which produces the necessary torque to pump various solid and liquid cargoes. “Magnetically actuated soft robotic pumps that can restore peristalsis and seamlessly integrate with medical stents have not been reported before,” Dong and the researchers report in the paper.
 
Dong, who also holds appointments in biomedical engineering and electrical and computer engineering, said further refinements of the device could aid in other biological processes compromised by disease. For example, the design could be used to help transport human eggs from the ovaries when muscular function in the fallopian tubes has been impaired. With advanced manufacturing processes, the device also could be scaled down to adapt to even narrower passageways, the researchers noted.
 
Vanderbilt University School of Engineering provided funding support and Oak Ridge National Laboratory provided facility support for this research. The research team is affiliated with the Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering (VISE).