ESOPHAGUS STENT WITH PERISTALSIS MOVEMENT

An operation of an esophagus cancer is difficult because of the complex procedure. Surgical resection cannot be performed in the patients with cardiopulmonary disfunction or high risk cases. Furthermore, the esophagus cancer which advanced is not resectable. The patients with esophagus cancer, which is not resectable, cannot have a meal because of stenosis of the esophagus. In these cases, a stent is inserted in order to swallow a meal. However, a meal may be got blocked in a stent in several cases. In this case, an endoscope is required. The pain of the patients are large when an endoscope is used by the intercepted esophagus. Then, we invented the stent which swallows food. A peristaltic stent consists of a macromolecule material and a system of artificial peristalsis muscles. Artificial peristalsis muscles consist of the BIOMETAL, new shape memory alloy actuator simulated the mustle movement. The animal experiment was conducted using the goat with the same weight as man. The peristalsis movement was observed in the body of a goat. as the results. In clinical, a stent is scheduled to be inserted, after extending a constriction using a balloon. Now, industrialization is under plan.