Healastomers: Unique Shape-Memory and Self-Healing Polymer Complexes for Medical Simulation Applications

Medical simulation bridges the gap between classroom presentation and live tissue training. As medical simulation has improved and become even more lifelike and realistic, the need for enabling technologies that can lower the cost, improve the reusability, or provide added value by enhancing the training experience has become clear. One of the needed technologies is an elastomer that can exhibit self-healing behavior. One can imagine this material allowing more realistic training (for example, a suture training system that heals following correct suturing), more repeatable training (e.g., a cricothyroidotomy incision trainer that can heal and be reused immediately), or lower cost training (e.g., a percutaneous line placement trainer where both skin and vessel can self-heal and be reused by multiple trainees). In order to address this challenging need for a unique field, Luna Innovations proposes to develop a set of shape memory and self-healing elastomers to be known as Healastomers. These will utilize known shape-memory chemistries based upon biocompatible, low cost shape-memory polymers that can be utilized to form supramolecular complexes known to self-heal.