Soft robotic surrogate lung

DOI: 10.1021/acsabm.8b00753

Authors: Olivier Ranunkel (Imperial College London) , Firat Guder (Imperial College London) , Hari Arora (Swansea University)
Co-authored by industrial partner: No

Type: Journal Paper
Journal: Acs Applied Bio Materials

State: Published (Approved)
Published: March 2019
Diamond Proposal Number(s): 12864

Abstract: Previous artificial lung surrogates used hydrogels or balloon-like inflatable structures without reproducing the alveolar network or breathing action within the lung. A physiologically-accurate, air-filled lung model inspired by soft robotics is presented. The model, Soft Robotic Surrogate Lung (SRSL) is composed of clusters of artificial alveoli made of platinum-cured silicone, with internal pathways for air flow. Mechanical tests in conjunction with full-field image and volume correlation techniques characterise the SRSL behaviour. SRSLs enable both healthy and pathological lungs to be studied in idealised cases. Although simple in construction, the connected airways demonstrate clearly the importance of an inflatable network for capturing basic lung behaviour (compared to more simplified lung surrogates). The SRSL highlights the potentially damaging nature of local defects caused by occlusion or overdistension (present in conditions such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). The SRSL is developed as a potential upgrade to conventional surrogates used for injury risk predictions in trauma. The deformation of the SRSL is evaluated against blast trauma using a shock tube. The SRSL was compared to other conventional trauma surrogate materials and showed greatest similarity to lung tissue. The SRSL has the potential to complement conventional biomechanical studies and reduce animal use in basic biomechanics studies, where high severity protocols are used.

Journal Keywords: lung; biomechanics; soft robotics; trauma; image correlation

Subject Areas: Biology and Bio-materials


Instruments: I13-2-Diamond Manchester Imaging

Added On: 19/03/2019 11:51

Documents:
acsabm.8b00753.pdf

Discipline Tags:

Biomaterials Materials Science

Technical Tags:

Imaging Tomography