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Origami-Inspired Medical Patch for Minimally Invasive Surgery

Many surgeries are performed via minimally invasive procedures, in which a small incision is made and miniature cameras and surgical tools are threaded through the body. Surgeons can face challenges at an important step in the process: the sealing of internal wounds and tears. Engineers at MIT  introduce a medical patch that can be folded around minimally invasive surgical tools and delivered through airways, intestines, and other narrow spaces, to patch up internal injuries. The patch looks like a foldable, paper-like film when dry. When it makes contact with wet tissues or organs, it transforms into a stretchy gel and and can stick to an injured site. Over time, the patch can safely biodegrade away in the body.

Topics:
Materials Medical

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    Transcript

    00:00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING] SARAH WU: As surgical technology becomes more advanced, more and more procedures are shifting toward minimally invasive techniques. For instance, using miniature cameras or robotic tools, surgeons are able to make procedures shorter and improve patient outcomes. However, sealing and repairing tissues is still a major challenge in minimally invasive surgery.

    00:00:22 In these situations, surgeons are often dealing with limited visualization, reduced degrees of freedom, and less haptic feedback. This makes suturing, stapling, and applying glues exceptionally difficult. To address these challenges, our team has developed a multi-functional origami-inspired tissue sealing patch with a novel multilayer architecture. The sticky layer of the patch is based on a bioadhesive material which contains functional groups that can covalently bond

    00:00:49 with tissue surfaces. One surface of the patch is embedded with micro particles comprised of this material, then infused with a slippery fluid layer. This fluid-infused matrix helps prevent the bioadhesive material from becoming contaminated by body fluids as it is navigated through the body. Meanwhile, a non-adhesive anti-fouling layer

    00:01:15 on the opposite side prevents the patch from being contaminated by bacteria or other foulants that can cause inflammation. The patch can be folded into different shapes, giving it the versatility to be integrated with various existing devices without needing a completely new device to be created and approved. Through a series of demonstrations we show how the patch can be combined with a laparoscopic stapler to form a linear seal or a balloon

    00:01:40 catheter to seal hollow organs and vessels. Over time, as the wound heals the past can be degraded in the body. [MUSIC PLAYING]