Engineering peripheral nerve devices with patterned magnets

神经损伤的临床治疗通常需要手术干预来修复已经切断的组织。当损伤“移除”一段神经，形成一个缺口，导致神经末端无法缝合在一起时，问题就出现了。神经具有再生长的能力，并且在这种情况下，可以使用神经管导管来引导新的神经生长穿过间隙损伤部位。这种方法是有限的，但可以通过在管道内植入神经支持细胞（许旺细胞）来变得更有效。然而，植入的支持细胞没有空间组织来引导再生的神经丝。因此，我们计划进行一项试点研究，以建立一个设备，可以控制许旺细胞的位置与微米精度使用纳米珠和平行磁场元素。如果成功，我们将扩大我们的方法，开发一种磁导管，用于非侵入性地控制许旺细胞的位置，并在导管内精确对齐，以改善神经修复策略。

The clinical treatment of nerve injury usually needs surgical intervention to repair tissue that has been severed. Problems arise when the resulting nerve ends cannot be sewn back together because the injury 'removes' a section of nerve, forming a gap. Nerve has the ability to re-grow and in such instances an entubulation conduit can be used to guide new nerve growth across a gap injury site. This approach is limited but can be made more effective by implanting nerve support cells (Schwann cells) inside the conduit. However, the implanted support cells have no spatial organisation to guide regenerating nerve filaments. We therefore plan a pilot study to build a device that can control the position of Schwann cells with micrometer accuracy using nanobeads and parallel magnetic field elements. If successful, we will scale up our approach to developing a magnetic conduit for non-invasively controlling the position of Schwann cells with accurate alignment inside a conduit for improving nerve repair strategies.