Medical Design Briefs - January 2024 - 36

n Hydrogel Patch Supports Collapsed
Airway by 50 Percent
" This research represents a significant
step forward in addressing the challenges
associated with tracheomalacia treatment, "
says Professor Dominique P. Pioletti, head
of LBO, and lead researcher on the project.
" The adhesive hydrogel patch we have
developed in collaboration with the CHUV
shows great promise in providing mechanical
support to the trachea and preventing
airway collapse. "
In this successful proof of concept, the
new adhesive hydrogel patch exhibited
robust adhesion on wet tracheal surfaces
and structurally supported a completely
collapsed trachea under negative pressure,
increasing volume up to 50 percent.
These promising results pave the way for
the potential use of adhesive hydrogels as
a new approach in the clinical treatment of
tracheomalacia. " We are optimistic about
this proof of concept, as the 50 percent
increase in the opening of a completely
collapsed trachea is enough to alleviate the
severe symptoms of tracheomalacia, " says
paper co-author and CHUV pediatric surgeon
Dr. Kishore Sandu.
n Collaboration Between EPFL Engineers
and CHUV Pediatric Surgeons
" It has been really exciting to bring together
different visions and to progress
towards a highly desired solution to a difficult
medical problem, " says co-author of
the paper and CHUV pediatric airway surgeon
Dr. François Gorostidi. The fruitful
collaboration between surgeons and engineers
for this project depended on each
side listening carefully to each other's specific
requirements in the operating room
and in the lab. " Engineers and surgeons
do not always speak the same language, so
we had to first understand how to work together.
But coming up with an engineering
solution to a medical condition with
limited treatment options has proven very
promising, " says Dr. Sandu.
The collaboration is ongoing, and
the researchers were eager to point out
that the process is extremely iterative.
It's taken three years and hundreds
of formulations of the hydrogel to
achieve these impressive results. And
neither the surgeons or the engineers
will rest until their solution to tracheomalacia
reaches the operating room,
solving an often-intractable problem
for pediatricians who need to open
the airway of newborns but risk the
unavoidable and unwanted negative
consequences of invasive solutions.
This research has been funded by
the SNF, Sinergia Grant attributed to
Professors D. Pioletti and N. Stergiopulos
at EPFL, and to Dr K. Sandu at
CHUV.
This article was written Michael David
Mitchell, EPFL. For more information,
contact Prof. Dominique P. Pioletti
at dominique.pioletti@epfl.ch or visit
https://actu.epfl.ch.
Parkinson's Disease: A Neuroprosthetic to Correct Walking
Disorders
The neuroprosthetic
stimulates the spinal cord
electrically.
EPFL
Lausanne, Switzerland
Neuroscientists and neurosurgeons
the EPFL/CHUV/UNIL, Inserm,
and the University of Bordeaux have
designed a neuroprosthetic intended
to correct walking disorders associated
with Parkinson's disease. In a study
published in Nature Medicine, the scientists
set out in detail the process of developing
the neuroprosthetic that has
allowed a first patient with Parkinson's
to be treated, enabling him to walk
comfortably, confidently and without
falling.
at
Disabling walking disorders occur in
around 90 percent of persons who are
at an advanced stage of Parkinson's disease.
These walking disorders are often
resistant to the treatments that are currently
available. Marc, 62, has lived with
Parkinson's for almost three decades.
Dopamine and then the deep brain
36
stimulation he received in 2004 dealt
with his tremors and stiffness. More
recently, he developed serious walking
disorders which did not respond to dopamine
or brain stimulation. " I practically
could not walk anymore without
falling frequently, several times a day. In
some situations, such as entering a lift,
I'd trample on the spot, as though I was
frozen there, you might say. "
n Electric Stimulation of the
Spinal Cord
" The idea of developing a neuroprosthetic
that stimulates the spinal cord
electrically to harmonize the procedure
and correct locomotor disorders in patients
with Parkinson's is the result of
several years of research on the treatment
of paralysis due to spinal-cord
injuries, " explains Grégoire Courtine,
professor of neuroscience at EPFL, Lausanne
University Hospital (CHUV) and
UNIL. Unlike conventional treatments
for Parkinson's which target the regions
of the brain directly affected by the loss
of dopamine-producing neurons, this
neuroprosthetic targets the spinal area
responsible for activating leg muscles
www.medicaldesignbriefs.com
while walking, which is not seemingly
directly affected by Parkinson's disease.
" It is impressive to see how by electrically
stimulating the spinal cord in a
targeted manner, in the same way as we
have done with paraplegic patients, we
can correct walking disorders caused
by Parkinson's disease, " says Jocelyne
Bloch, neurosurgeon and professor
at the Lausanne University Hospital
(CHUV), UNIL and EPFL, and codirector
of the NeuroRestore centre
with Grégoire Courtine.
The implantation of this neuroprosthetic
in a patient would not have been
possible without the collaboration of Dr.
Erwan Bezard, neuroscientist at Inserm,
affiliate at the CNRS and the University
of Bordeaux, who has dedicated his
career to understanding neurodegenerative
diseases. His expertise in preclinical
models of Parkinson's disease
was essential to correctly produce the
technological and conceptual developments
required for clinical application
in human beings.
Two years ago, the team of scientists
and doctors were ready, and a first patient
was operated on, in Lausanne
Medical Design Briefs, January 2024
https://actu.epfl.ch http://www.medicaldesignbriefs.com
Medical Design Briefs - January 2024

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