Robotic device restores wavelike muscular function involved in processes like digestion, aiding patients with compromised organs | School of Engineering [Video]

A team of Vanderbilt researchers has 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, which is driven by strong magnets controlled by a wearable external actuator, can aid 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 takes place 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 in the journal Advanced Functional Materials describing the device.