Low‐flow removal of refractory ascites is critical to treating cirrhosis and digestive system tumor, and thus, commercial ascites pump emerged lately. The rigid structure of clinically available pumps rises complication rate and lack of flow rate monitoring hinders early warning of abnormalities. Herein, a soft artificial system was proposed inspired by lymph for interactive ascites transfer with great biocompatibility. The implantable system is composed of pump cavity, valves and tubes, which are soft and flexible made by silica gel. Therefore, the system possesses similar modulus to tissues and can naturally fit surrounding tissues. The cavity with magnetic tablet embedded is driven by extracorporeal magnetic field. Subsequently, the system can drain ascites with a top speed of 23 mL min−1, much higher than that of natural lymphatic system and state‐of‐art devices. Moreover, integrated flexible sensors enable wireless, real‐time flow rate monitoring, serving as proof of treatment adjustment, detection and locating of malfunction at early stage. The liver function of experimental objects was improved, and no severe complications occurred for 4 weeks, which proved its safety and benefit to treatment. This artificial lymphatic system can serve as a bridge to recovery and pave the way for further clinical research.
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机译:低流量去除难治性腹水对于治疗肝硬化和消化系统肿瘤至关重要,因此,最近出现了商用腹水泵。临床可用的泵的刚性结构会增加并发症发生率,并且缺乏流速监测阻碍了异常的早期预警。在此,受淋巴启发,提出了一种柔软的人工系统,用于具有出色生物相容性的交互式腹水转移。植入式系统由泵腔、阀门和管子组成,由硅胶制成,柔软而有弹性。因此,该系统具有与组织相似的模量,可以自然地适合周围的组织。嵌入磁性片剂的腔体由体外磁场驱动。随后,该系统可以以 23 mL min-1 的最高速度引流腹水,远高于天然淋巴系统和最先进的设备。此外,集成的柔性传感器可实现无线、实时的流量监测,作为治疗调整、检测和早期故障定位的证明。实验对象肝功能改善,4 周无严重并发症发生,证明其安全性和治疗益处。这种人工淋巴系统可以作为恢复的桥梁,并为进一步的临床研究铺平道路。
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