2005-11-012024-05-18https://scholars.lib.ntu.edu.tw/handle/123456789/713288摘要：電致動聚合物會隨著電位大小的變化，會產生不同程度的形狀改變。通電時，電致動聚合物內部分子受到電位的影響，使分子排列從原本的結構變成偏往某一端聚集，外部看起來就像整條電致動聚合物彎曲，或是伸長、縮短，如同人類肌肉纖維一般，因此被稱為「人工肌肉」。電致動聚合物的特性，可以作為致動器、人工肌肉和transducers，在工業上或是醫學上都有應用的潛力。不過雖然有許多研究者建議若干在醫學上的應用，例如：artificial ventricular muscles、surgical tool、artificial sphincter、ocular muscles等，不過這些應用都只限於紙上談兵，未見實際產品，也未在文獻中發表過，因此仍然是一個具挑戰性的領域。 本研究計畫就是要將人工肌肉應用在實際的醫療問題中。尿失禁是指無法用意志去控制排尿，尿液會不由自主地從尿道流出。它是許多長者共同的痛苦，尤以女性特別容易受到此問題困擾。老年人常見因尿道鬆弛或骨盆底部肌肉無力造成尿失禁，目前利用運動與藥物治療，對於症狀輕微的病人較有效，在嚴重的病人身上常需用手術或注射填充物，但是都只能幫助尿道”關閉”，因而不少病人會因矯枉過正造成堵塞。 本研究計畫將利用人工肌肉來重新塑造括約肌，以矯正尿失禁的問題。簡言之，將電致動材料製成一環狀結構，利用微弱的電流通過而產生彎曲形變，藉以收縮或放鬆尿道，來控制排尿。此計畫需結合跨領域的專長，包括材料科學、微機電技術、醫學等範圍，計畫將分為下列分項：電致動高分子的合成及人工括約肌的製作、人工肌肉生物力學的探討、生物相容性的評估，以及動物實驗。 <br> Abstract: Electroactive polymers (EAPs), a new class of materials, are characterized by their ability to change shape in response to electrical stimulation. When EAPs are applied in an electrical field, molecules are rearranged to one end of the electrical field, which makes the polymers bending to one side. The properties of EAPs can be used in actuators, artificial muscle and transducers. It has been proposed that EAPs can be applied to biomedical area, such as artificial ventricular muscles, surgical tool, artificial sphincter, ocular muscles. However, none of them becomes a reality. The proposal intends to apply EAPs to a real biomedical problem. Loss of bladder control is called urinary incontinence. It can happen to anyone, but is very common in older people. This might be due to problems such as: weak bladder muscles, overactive bladder muscles, blockage from an enlarged prostate, damage to nerves that control the bladder from diseases. There are more treatments for urinary incontinence, such as bladder control training, medicine, surgery and injection. However, these methods may not work on the patients with serious symptoms. The purpose of this proposal is to utilize artificial muscle to cure urinary incontinence. We plan to fabricate artificial sphincter made of electroactive polymers. Electroactive polymers are fabricated into a ring structure, which could surround urinary tract. When an electrical field is applied to the ring, it will contract or expand the urinary tract, and therefore control urinating. This project needs multidiscipline: material science, microelectronics and medicine. This project includes synthesis of electroactive polymers, fabrication of artificial sphincter, study in biomechanics of artificial muscle, biocompatibility test, and animal test.電致動高分子人工括約肌尿失禁electroactive polymersartificial sphincterurinary incontinence