Scientists have developed a tool that quickly closes tears and holes in blood vessels with
Eventually, the adhesive delivery system will replace the need for surgery to correct defects in the internal blood vessels.
The catheter system consists of two elements:
- ePATCH - adhesive patch containing special Voltaglue glue;
- CATRE is a modified catheter with retractable wires that carry electrical current.
The glue itself was first created by the team of SingaporeNanyang University of Technology and has since been developed in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Voltaglue takes the form of a hydrogel that contains carbon molecules called carbenes. They, in turn, are grafted to polymer molecules in the form of tree branches - dendrimers. When an electrical charge is applied to the gel, carbenes are attracted to any nearby surfaces. The dendrimers that follow along with the carbenes cling to surfaces to form a bond.
The higher the charge, the stronger the bond becomes.
Hard-wired CATRE balloon catheter with electrically activated ePATCH on the left end. Nanyang Technological University
In recent experiments, a small patch,coated with Voltaglue, was placed over the end of a flexible balloon catheter, which was then inserted into the porcine aorta. Although the animal's blood vessel was removed, the scientists connected it to a model of the heart. He was exposed to a continuous flow of blood at a rate of 10 ml per minute.
When the patch reached a 3-millimeter rupture in the aorta, the balloon at the end of the catheter was inflated, pressing the patch against the hole.Electrical wires running along the length of the CATRE catheter were then used to deliver an electrical charge to the Voltaglue on the hardening patch.
Within three to five minutes, the glue covered the hole.The catheter was removed, leaving the patch in place. Even after 1,000 simulated heart beats, it remained securely attached. However, both the patch and Voltaglue are designed to be biodegradable and harmlessly absorbed by the body over a period of several weeks, once the repaired blood vessel is completely healed.
The technology is patented and nowcommercialized as an electrically activated ePATCH patch and a CATRE guidewire catheter. Besides being used in blood vessels, it can be used in the intestines and esophagus.
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