1. Esophageal lengthening experiments.
Esophageal lengthening experiments. (A) An implant controller located in a vest pocket communicates wirelessly with a laptop computer. (B) Force and position data recorded over a 24-hour period. (C) Fluoroscopic image showing the flow of contrast agent through esophagus during traction. (D) Esophageal segment length versus time. Surgery occurs on day 0. Segment length corresponds to the distance between implant attachment rings for lengthened segment (blue) and that between clips for control segments (green). Average values at sacrifice are given (in red and purple, respectively). Two animals were survived to day 10, and three were survived to day 11. ***P < (E) Resected esophagus cut along its length and unrolled along its circumference to show epithelium. Rings are placed adjacent to attachment locations for reference. Note the normal appearance of tissue and the uniform diameter of the lengthened section.
Dana D. Damian et al. Sci. Robotics 2018;3:eaaq0018
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