Personalised urethra pessaries prepared by material extrusion-based additive manufacturing
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in: International Journal of Pharmaceutics, Jahrgang 608.2021, Nr. 25 October, 121112, 25.10.2021.
Publikationen: Beitrag in Fachzeitschrift › Artikel › Forschung › (peer-reviewed)
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Personalised urethra pessaries prepared by material extrusion-based additive manufacturing
AU - Spoerk, Martin
AU - Arbeiter, Florian
AU - Koutsamanis, Ioannis
AU - Cajner, Hrvoje
AU - Katschnig, Matthias
AU - Eder, Simone
N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) as part of the PolyPrint project (Grant Agreement 872984 ). Special thanks go to Anja Gosch for assistance in the filament tensile tests, to Christof Lichal for help in the CAD drawings and processing the 3D-printed pessaries and to Dr. Petra Spörk-Erdely for fruitful discussions. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2021/10/25
Y1 - 2021/10/25
N2 - Material extrusion-based additive manufacturing, commonly referred to as 3D-printing, is regarded as the key technology to pave the way for personalised medical treatment. This study explores the technique’s potential in customising vaginal inserts with complex structures, so-called urethra pessaries. A novel, flawlessly 3D-printable and biocompatible polyester-based thermoplastic elastomer serves as the feedstock. Next to the smart selection of the 3D-printing parameters cross-sectional diameter and infill to tailor the pessary’s mechanical properties, we elaborate test methods accounting for its application-specific requirements for the first time. The key property, i.e. the force the pessary exerts on the urethra to relief symptoms of urinary incontinence, is reliably adjusted within a broad range, including that of the commercial injection-moulded silicone product. The pessaries do not change upon long-term exposure to vaginal fluid simulant and compression (in-vivo conditions), satisfying the needs of repeated pessary use. Importantly, the vast majority of the 3D-printed pessaries allows for self-insertion and self-removal without any induced pessary rupture. Summarising, 3D-printed pessaries are not only a reasonable alternative to the commercial products, but build the basis to effectively treat inhomogeneous patient groups. They make the simple but very effective pessary therapy finally accessible to every woman.
AB - Material extrusion-based additive manufacturing, commonly referred to as 3D-printing, is regarded as the key technology to pave the way for personalised medical treatment. This study explores the technique’s potential in customising vaginal inserts with complex structures, so-called urethra pessaries. A novel, flawlessly 3D-printable and biocompatible polyester-based thermoplastic elastomer serves as the feedstock. Next to the smart selection of the 3D-printing parameters cross-sectional diameter and infill to tailor the pessary’s mechanical properties, we elaborate test methods accounting for its application-specific requirements for the first time. The key property, i.e. the force the pessary exerts on the urethra to relief symptoms of urinary incontinence, is reliably adjusted within a broad range, including that of the commercial injection-moulded silicone product. The pessaries do not change upon long-term exposure to vaginal fluid simulant and compression (in-vivo conditions), satisfying the needs of repeated pessary use. Importantly, the vast majority of the 3D-printed pessaries allows for self-insertion and self-removal without any induced pessary rupture. Summarising, 3D-printed pessaries are not only a reasonable alternative to the commercial products, but build the basis to effectively treat inhomogeneous patient groups. They make the simple but very effective pessary therapy finally accessible to every woman.
KW - 3D-printing
KW - Personalised medicine
KW - Tailored mechanical properties
KW - Urethra pessary
KW - Urinary incontinence
KW - Vaginal inserts
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85115622344&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2021.121112
DO - 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2021.121112
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85115622344
VL - 608.2021
JO - International Journal of Pharmaceutics
JF - International Journal of Pharmaceutics
SN - 0378-5173
IS - 25 October
M1 - 121112
ER -