Nitinol, an alloy of nickel and titanium, has “shape memory.” This means that it is a “smart material”, very elastic and that reacts and changes to certain external stimuli.
A team of American scientists has taken advantage of these characteristics to develop a nitinol penile implant that remains flaccid when at body temperature and expands when subjected to heat.
A bionic penis
The device is a coiled metal coil that is implanted at the base of the penis through a simple procedure. Its creators are working on a remote control that sends waves to the device to increase its temperature a few degrees above the body, so that it expands and helps the patient to have full and long-lasting erections.
Many men suffer impotence after going through operations, various types of cancer or accidents. About 40 percent of those between the ages of 40 and 70 have some level of erectile dysfunction, and of these, a third do not respond to medications such as Viagra. The potential clientele for an effective penile implant is large, which is why Boston Scientific, a technology and medical device company, is funding this research.
The first tests with the device (still without humans) have been positive. After heating, it expands (see video) . When it cools, it gradually returns to its original state. Brian Le, a urologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and one of the authors of the work, believes that this implant can reach the market in a period of five to ten years, and become an alternative to traditional treatments against impotence, among them inflatable implants.
Photo: University of Wisconsin-Madison.
