A team of researchers led by Nanyang Technological University Singapore (NTU Singapore) has developed a device that provides a less invasive and quicker way of sealing holes and tears in blood vessels, making use of an electrically activated glue patch applied through an invasive balloon catheter.
This device may later be used instead of the need for a keyhole or open surgery to stitch or patch up internal blood vessel defects. The catheter is inserted into an appropriate blood vessel, then the “Voltaglue” a nickname for glue patch can be guided via the body to the location of the tear and then activated with retractable electrodes to glue it shut in few minutes. This is attained without making a single surgical cut.
Voltaglue is patented by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and NTU scientists, an adhesive device that works in wet environments and hardens after the voltage is applied to it. The catheter device is the first proof of concept application of Voltaglue in a medical environment since its invention in 2005 by Associate Prof Steele.
Assoc Prof Steele said “The system we developed is a possible solution to the current medical need that has not been met for a minimally invasive technique to repair arteriovenous fistulas (a wrong connection between a vein and an artery) or vascular leaks without open surgery. With the catheter device and Voltaglue, we create the possibility of not making surgical incisions to patch a tear inside instead, we can send a catheter-based device to get the job done.”
The catheter system is made up of two components:
- The adhesive patch which contains the Voltaglue called ePATCH, which is applied to the catheter’s balloon,
- a modified catheter with retractable wires that carry electrical current, named CATRE.
The team conducted a lab experiment on the heart of a pig showing the Voltaglue patch can be effectively and safely administered in different situations which includes withstanding the high pulsatile pressure of blood in arteries like the aorta. The device was used to close a 3mm defect in an explanted pig aorta connected to a mock heart under a continuous flow of blood of 10ml per minute.
First, the catheter is inserted and guided through the blood vessel. Immediately it reached the location of the tear, the balloon expanded so the injury is covered by the Voltaglue patch. Both Voltaglue and the patch are made with bioresorbable material, which is entirely degradable and dissolves after a few weeks.
The commercial potential of the catheter system highlights NTU’s commitment to innovation in its recently announced 2025 strategic plan, which aims to translate research into products and outcomes that enhance the quality of life.
