NuAIR stent: A respiratory stent inspired by nature, achieved through cutting edge architecture and engineering

呼吸道阻塞导致呼吸困难和吞咽困难。在高达30%的肺癌患者中发生，预后通常很差，姑息治疗是唯一的选择。此外，去年英国有超过2，000名患者患有气管软化（气道塌陷）和狭窄（气道异常狭窄）。目前治疗气道阻塞的金标准是手术切除。然而，手术是一种侵入性的、耗时的过程，并且在恢复期间可能出现诸如感染的并发症。另一种方法是使用气道支架，中空的圆柱形假体提供支持。它们可以在不需要手术的情况下展开，并且可以显著缓解与气道阻塞相关的不适，显著提高生活质量，并且在许多情况下可以延长使用寿命。市场上有许多气道支架，包括硅胶支架、金属支架和混合支架。每一种方法都有明显的缺点。硅胶支架易于移位，需要定位。金属支架有气道穿孔的风险，并且很难取出或重新定位。混合支架明显比硅胶或金属支架昂贵。对于完美气道支架的需求不断增长，但尚未得到满足。我们建议创建NuAIR，这是一种为患者定制的气道支架，具有完美支架的所有特征。它将使用生物相容性胶原蛋白和合成聚合物制成，以满足气管的生理需求。设计灵感来自于自然界中的结构建筑。这将导致一个支架，是强大的，但灵活的，使用最少量的材料。NuAIR将通过3D打印制成，这是一种快速且具有成本效益的方法。最重要的是，这将允许基于个体患者的计算机断层扫描（CT）来定制支架。这将减少不必要的运动并增加舒适度-理想支架的关键组成部分。

Airway obstructions cause breathlessness and difficulty swallowing. They occur in up to 30%of lung cancer patients, where prognosis is often poor and palliative treatment the only option.Additionally, there were over 2,000 patients suffering from tracheomalacia (collapsed airway)and stenosis (abnormal narrowing of the airway) in the UK last year.The current gold standard treatment for airway obstruction is surgical resection. However,surgery is an invasive, time consuming procedure and complications such as infection mayarise during recovery. An alternative is to use Airway stents, hollow cylindrical prosthesesthat provide support. They can be deployed without surgery and provide significant relieffrom the discomfort associated with an obstructed airway, a marked increase in quality of life,and in many cases a prolonged lifespan.There are a number of Airway stents on the market, including silicone, metal and hybridstents. Each of these have significant shortcomings. Silicone stents tend to migrate and requirere positioning. Metal stents have a risk of airway perforation and are very difficult to removeor reposition. Hybrid stents are significantly more expensive than either silicone or metalstents. There is a growing, unmet need for the perfect Airway stent.We propose to create NuAIR, an Airway stent customised for patients that possesses all thecharacteristics of the perfect stent. It will be made using biocompatible collagen and asynthetic polymer to meet the physiological demands of the trachea. The design will beinspired by structural architecture found in nature. This will result in a stent that is strong yetflexible, using the minimal amount of material. NuAIR will be made by 3D-printing, a fastand cost effective method. Most importantly, this will allow customisation of stents based oncomputerised-tomography (CT) scans of individual patients. This will reduce unwantedmovement and increase comfort – key components of the ideal stent.