Biomedical shape-memory polymers developed

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology are developing unique polymers, which change shape upon heating, to open blocked arteries, probe neurons in the brain and engineer a tougher spine.

These so-called shape-memory polymers can be temporarily stretched or compressed into forms several times larger or smaller than their final shape. Then heat, light or the local chemical environment triggers a transformation into their permanent shape.

Ken Gall, a professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and School of Materials Science and Engineering, is the leading researcher in the project. He and his research group have designed a shape-memory polymer stent that can be compressed and fed through a tiny hole in the body into a blocked artery, just like a conventional stent. Then, the warmth of the body triggers the polymer's expansion into its permanent shape, resulting in natural deployment without auxiliary devices. This work has been published in the journal Biomaterials earlier.