Technology
Many clinical applications have been found in the past for synthethic materials originally designed with an alternative purpose in mind. Historically ‘off the shelf’ materials have been chosen for medical applications due to their availability and seemingly appropriate mechanical properties.
The clinical community widely accepts the growing need for ‘bio-inspired’ materials that will be mechanically compatible with the host tissue at the site of intended use.
Vysera has developed novel biomaterials that can mimic the mechanical properties of soft biological tissues. Many existing biomaterials are either stiff, engineering thermoplastics or thermoplastic elastomers. Such conventional materials cannot approximate the complex mechanical behaviour of dynamic anatomical systems. Various tissues, including those of the gastrointestinal system, stretch readily but only relax back to their original dimensions gradually.
Vyseras BioTx biomaterials are formed using proprietary chemistry, which facilitates the covalent linking of disimilar biocompatible polymers. The resulting copolymers can be made to exhibit a variety of properties, which thus enables the BioTx material to be ‘tailored’ to mechanically mimic the target tissue of choice.
The patented chemistry used to link the polymer components together has been developed to withstand the harsh environments within the human body. Stability testing of the materials in simulated gastric juice has demonstrated a high level of ‘biostability’. This has enabled Vysera's development of medical devices for use in the esophagus for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
The BioTx material has been incorporated into a reflux barrier, which functions as an asymmetric valve. The valve, once fixed at the gastro esophageal junction, prevents the gastric contents from refluxing into the esophagus. However the valve can be made to open from below with the force of vomiting or belching. In the process of eating, the valve behaves very much like the native esophageal tissue, expanding to accommodate the food bolus, which is propelled distally via normal peristalsis.
