Shape-recovery of implanted shape-memory devices remotely triggered via image-guided ultrasound heating

Yang Zhu; Kaicheng Deng; Jianwei Zhou; Chong Lai; Zuwei Ma; Hua Zhang; Jiazhen Pan; Liyin Shen; Matthew D Bucknor; Eugene Ozhinsky; Seungil Kim; Guangjie Chen; Sang-Ho Ye; Yue Zhang; Donghong Liu; Changyou Gao; Yonghua Xu; Huanan Wang; William R Wagner

doi:10.1038/s41467-024-45437-2

Shape-recovery of implanted shape-memory devices remotely triggered via image-guided ultrasound heating

Nat Commun. 2024 Feb 6;15(1):1123. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-45437-2.

Authors

Yang Zhu^#^{1

2

3

4

5}, Kaicheng Deng^#⁶, Jianwei Zhou^#⁷, Chong Lai^#⁸, Zuwei Ma⁹, Hua Zhang¹⁰, Jiazhen Pan¹⁰, Liyin Shen⁶, Matthew D Bucknor¹¹, Eugene Ozhinsky¹¹, Seungil Kim^{9

12}, Guangjie Chen¹³, Sang-Ho Ye^{9

12}, Yue Zhang¹⁴, Donghong Liu¹⁵, Changyou Gao⁶, Yonghua Xu¹⁶, Huanan Wang¹⁷, William R Wagner^{18

19

20

21}

Affiliations

¹ MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. zhuyang@zju.edu.cn.
² McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. zhuyang@zju.edu.cn.
³ Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. zhuyang@zju.edu.cn.
⁴ Binjiang Institute of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China. zhuyang@zju.edu.cn.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Intervention and Regenerative Medicine of Zhejiang Province, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China. zhuyang@zju.edu.cn.
⁶ MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
⁷ School of Electromechanical and Energy Engineering, NingboTech University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China.
⁸ Department of Urology, First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
⁹ McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
¹⁰ College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
¹¹ Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
¹² Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
¹³ Department of Urology, The Children's Hospital, School of Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
¹⁴ San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
¹⁵ College of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science, National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Intelligent Food Technology and Equipment, Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Agro-Food Processing, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
¹⁶ Department of Imaging and Interventional Radiology, Zhongshan-Xuhui Hospital of Fudan University/Shanghai Xuhui Central Hospital, Shanghai, China. howardyonghua@yeah.net.
¹⁷ College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. hnwang@zju.edu.cn.
¹⁸ McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. wagnerwr@upmc.edu.
¹⁹ Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. wagnerwr@upmc.edu.
²⁰ Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. wagnerwr@upmc.edu.
²¹ Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. wagnerwr@upmc.edu.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Shape-memory materials hold great potential to impart medical devices with functionalities useful during implantation, locomotion, drug delivery, and removal. However, their clinical translation is limited by a lack of non-invasive and precise methods to trigger and control the shape recovery, especially for devices implanted in deep tissues. In this study, the application of image-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) heating is tested. Magnetic resonance-guided HIFU triggered shape-recovery of a device made of polyurethane urea while monitoring its temperature by magnetic resonance thermometry. Deformation of the polyurethane urea in a live canine bladder (5 cm deep) is achieved with 8 seconds of ultrasound-guided HIFU with millimeter resolution energy focus. Tissue sections show no hyperthermic tissue injury. A conceptual application in ureteral stent shape-recovery reduces removal resistance. In conclusion, image-guided HIFU demonstrates deep energy penetration, safety and speed.

MeSH terms

Animals
Dogs
Heating
High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Ablation* / methods
Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods
Polyurethanes*
Urea

Substances

polyetherurethane urea
Polyurethanes
Urea

Grants and funding

R01 HL105911/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/United States