An implantable artificial esophagus to propel food simulating natural anatomical esophageal function

We have been developing implantable esophagus devices to achieve dynamic assistance in food-taking function for the patients suffering from esophageal cancer. Promotion of the quality of life as well as the activity of daily lives of the patients with severe esophageal cancer so that the esophageal tubular restoration by stenting or gastroesophagotomy are often carried out in order to ameliorate self-digestive function. Some patients with those severe cancer have difficulty to make food deliver smoothly due to the lack of peristaltic motions in the lesion. In this study, we presented a new structure of an artificial esophagus which was capable of delivering foods from a mouth to stomach with a distributed mechanism. We examined the natural esophageal specimens in order to obtain a relationship between volume and pressure. Prior to the measurement of mechanical characteristics of the natural specimen, the portions of esophagus were freshly extracted from goats after the experiments. Then we modeled the characteristics of natural esophageal functions through a digestive process from the anatomical, biomechanical point of view and confirmed the functional distribution in the artificial esophagus that could drive the contents from proximal to distal. A new structural design for the proximal esophageal portion was also developed to achieve squeezing motion by using a shape memory alloy fiber as an actuator and its dynamic characteristics were tested.