I-Corps: Biodegradable Airway Stent for Tracheal Stenosis Management

ICorps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是防止因使用不可降解的永久性植入物而产生并发症，并最终减少医疗保健领域的重做/更换程序。一种新型可生物降解医疗植入物的引入满足了这一目的。生物可降解装置有一个相当大的市场，用于治疗各种健康状况和解决现有治疗方法的问题。全球可生物降解支架市场预计将在未来十年显著增长。预计到2020年，心脏病和癌症的死亡率将增加。然而，通过适当的微创干预，死亡人数可能会显著减少。由于植入永久性支架的后续治疗费用高昂，促使医疗保健行业寻求更好的替代方案。最终目标是提升美国在全球可吸收设备市场的领导地位。这个I-Corps项目的重点是一种生物材料，一种新型的可生物降解的镁基合金，可用于设计和开发可生物降解的医疗设备。镁已经存在于人体内，随着时间的推移，它会从支架中安全降解。本发明提供了一种用于支架等医疗器械的材料组合物。本发明材料具有高延展性和耐腐蚀性，适用于所有需要塑性和延展性超过传统镁合金的医疗器械。成人的许多疾病并发症会收缩或阻塞体内的通道，导致症状和健康恶化。虽然在技术可行和患者临床情况允许的情况下，手术矫正是首选，但支架植入术通常是一种可靠的选择。最近的研究表明，创新的技术平台指向安全且具有成本效益的生物可降解金属支架，并将解决现有的有机硅，镍钛诺和聚合物等永久性材料支架所带来的问题。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this ICorps project is to prevent complications developing from the use of non-degradable permanent implants and ultimately reduce redo/replacement procedures in the healthcare field. The introduction of a novel family of biodegradable medical implants meets this intention. There is a sizeable market for biodegradable devices to treat various health conditions and address issues from existing therapeutics. The global biodegradable stent market is expected to grow significantly over the next ten years. Mortality from heart diseases and cancer is projected to increase through the year 2020. However, with appropriate minimally-invasive intervention, the number of deaths can potentially be reduced significantly. The high cost of follow-up procedures due to insertion of permanent stents urges healthcare industry to seek better alternatives. The ultimate goal is to boost the position of the United States as a leader in the global absorbable device market.This I-Corps project focuses on a biomaterial, a novel biodegradable magnesium based alloy that can be used to design and develop the biodegradable medical devices. Magnesium is already present in the human body and simply degrades safely from the stents over time. The invention provides a material composition for medical device like stents. The invented material exhibits high ductility and corrosion resistance acceptable for all medical devices requiring plasticity and ductility exceeding that of conventional magnesium alloys. Many disease complications in adults constrict or block a passage within the body, causing symptoms and wellness deterioration. Although surgical correction is preferred when technically feasible and permitted by the clinical status of patient, stenting is often a reliable alternative. Recent research has indicated that innovative technology platform points to safe and cost-effective biodegradable metallic stents, and will solve the problems caused by existing stents made of permanent materials like silicone, nitinol and polymers.