Parasite-inspired Medical Devices

Inspired by the diverse attachment organs of parasites, researchers have designed a millimeter-scale mechanism for soft tissue anchoring. Robert J. Wood and colleagues turned to the world of parasites as inspiration for developing methods to affix small-scale medical devices to the gastrointestinal tract or other soft tissues for sensing, sample collection, and extended drug release. While evolution has produced a wide range of different biomechanical structures that can attach to soft tissues, the authors ultimately chose to use the curved hook arrays employed by some tapeworm species as a research model. The resulting device, which is made of stainless steel and polyimide film, has a series of curved hooks, which are automatically deployed when external force is applied to the platform. The device was produced with laminate manufacturing techniques, in which layers are bonded together with adhesive. The device weighs 44 mg and measures less than 5 mm in diameter when deployed, small enough to be used with ingestible capsule robots. According to the authors, the device could be used in a wide range of medical applications and could also be employed to affix sensors to marine organisms, or to manipulate, repair, or attach objects to textiles.