Keratin Nanomaterial Coating for Interfacing Advanced, Musculoskeletal Anchored Prosthetics to Epithelial Tissues
Abstract
Many advances in engineering technology have created new prosthetic devices with better flexibility and more recently, control over movements of motors and joints by interfacing the controls with the muscles and/or nerve impulses of the amputee. Despite this progress, a persistent problem is how these devices attach to the tissues of the body. Most advanced prosthetics still rely on an old system of sockets and straps. Better control, leverage, and strength could be experienced by the patient if these devices could be attached directly to the bones, muscles, and nerves, but connecting synthetic implants to human soft tissue is not easy. This research addresses that problem. The interface between a person s fingernail and skin is very strong, impervious to moisture, and does not readily become infected. That is because the skin can bond to the fingernail bed at the molecular level. The fingernail is made of keratin proteins, and these molecules present structures to the cells that form "lock and key" types of bonds that help produce strong points of attachment. These same keratin proteins can be used to coat implant surfaces and trick the body into thinking it is interacting with a fingernail-like interface. Such technology will allow, among other things, for a prosthetic limb to be attached to an implanted post that passes through the skin and attaches directly to the bone. The area where the skin touches the implant can be coated with special keratin proteins that allow the skin cells to form tough bonds that will help the skin stay healthy and the implant site to resist infection. There are more than 1,500 amputees from the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Also, there are more than 50,000 amputations annually within the Veterans Administration (VA) system. Many of these patients are fitted with prosthetics, but may stop using them because they do not have the same "feel" and reaction as an actual limb. While no prosthetic can replace the actual tissue, an implant that is directly interfaced to human tissue will provide better response to the wearer than a conventional socket system. When patients have a better feel for their prosthetic, they will wear it more, be more active, maintain their overall health, and improve their quality of life. Implants that pass through the skin and allow attachment of prosthetic arms and legs directly to the musculoskeletal system are a logical starting point for development of this technology. But keratin coatings may be able to be used to interface many types of implants to several different types of soft tissue. Future research may expand the reach of this approach to interfacing advanced electromechanical devices to muscles and nerves, as well as other types of devices with components that need to be passed through the skin like an artificial pancreas. Many types of medical devices are currently being developed and may be able to make use of a technology that allows synthetic materials to be effectively interfaced with human soft tissue. These applications will take years to develop and will require extensive human clinical trials to prove their safety and effectiveness. The current proposed research begins with the testing of an implant that passes through the skin and uses laboratory tests and animal models. More advanced studies in animals and human clinical trials will be required before many of these applications can be realized. Our team of scientists has already completed the first steps in this process, and now proposes more advanced experiments. Success in these efforts may provide military Service members, their families, Veterans, and the civilian population with a means to solve significant challenges in advanced prosthetic technologies, and may set the stage for future advancements in how to bridge current gaps between engineering and biology.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Apr 04, 2016
- Source ID
- W81XWH1510343
Entities
People
- Mark Van Dyke
Organizations
- United States Army
- Virginia Tech