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Artificial muscles restore ability to blink, save eyesight
Date:1/18/2010

es the surface of the eye clean and spreads tears across the cornea. Without this lubrication, the eye is soon at risk of developing corneal ulcers that eventually can cause blindness.

Involuntary eye blinking is controlled by a cranial nerve. In most patients with permanent eyelid paralysis, this nerve has been injured due to an accident, stroke, or surgery to remove a facial tumor. Many have no other functioning nerves nearby that can be rerouted to close the eyelid. Others were born with Mobius syndrome, characterized by underdeveloped facial nerves. These patients are expressionless and can neither blink nor smile.

Eyelid paralysis currently is treated by one of two approaches. One is to transfer a muscle from the leg into face. However, this option requires six to10 hours of surgery, creates a second wound, and is not always suitable for elderly or medically fragile patients.

The other treatment involves suturing a small gold weight inside the eyelid. The weight closes the eye with the help of gravity. Though successful in more than 90 percent of patients, the resulting eye blink is slower than normal and cannot be synchronized with the opposite eye. Some patients also have difficulty keeping the weighted lid closed when lying down to sleep. In the United States, an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 patients undergo this surgery every year and therefore might benefit from an alternative treatment.

For their study, Senders and Tollefson used a novel alternative method for eyelid rehabilitation in permanent facial paralysis. They used an eyelid sling mechanism to create an eyelid blink when actuated by an artificial muscle. Using cadavers, the surgeons inserted a sling made of muscle fascia or implantable fabric around the eye. Small titanium screws secured the eyelid sling to the small bones of the eye. The sling was attached to a battery-operated artificial muscle. The artificial muscle device and battery were into a natural hollow or
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Contact: David Ong
david.ong@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
916-734-9049
University of California - Davis - Health System
Source:Eurekalert

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