Mechanical & Materials Engineering, Department of

 

DESIGN AND VALIDATION OF A NITINOL-BASED INTESTINAL TISSUE ATTACHMENT MECHANISM

Musharrat Mustaree Mau, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Document Type Article

A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Master of Science, Major: Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, Under the Supervision of Professor Benjamin S. Terry. Lincoln, Nebraska: August 2021

Copyright © 2021 Musharrat Mustaree Mau

Abstract

Ingestible devices have been gaining attention due to their noninvasive nature and wide range of applications such as diagnostics, detection of biomarkers in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, treatment of chronic diseases, and drug delivery. Ingestible sensors residing in the GI tract can provide continuous data, while long-acting ingestible drug delivery systems can reduce medication nonadherence. However, the residency period inside the GI tract of most ingestible devices is restricted by their transit time through the GI tract. One of the technological gaps for better clinical outcomes and therapeutic interventions for ingestible devices to overcome is increasing their residency period in the GI tract. Inspired by intestinal parasites, a tissue attachment mechanism (TAM) was previously developed to be used with a biosensor or drug delivery payload implantable capsule robot (ICR). This work aims to improve the attachment reliability of the TAM. A novel TAM was designed and fabricated by using superelastic Nitinol to fulfill that goal. The reliability of the TAM was evaluated both ex vivo and in vivo. The attachment duration of the TAM was also measured by implanting it in a living animal and taking radiographic images. Additionally, a TAM delivery system was developed for nonsurgical placement of the TAM in the small intestine for optimization purposes. An endoscopic TAM delivery device was designed and validated for placing the TAM and for optimizing it.

Advisor: Benjamin S. Terry