Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, Edmund T. Pratt Jr. School of Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708.
Department of Bioengineering, Swanson School of Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261.
J Biomech Eng. 2023 Sep 1;145(9). doi: 10.1115/1.4062490.
Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is the herniation of the pelvic organs into the vaginal space, resulting in the feeling of a bulge and organ dysfunction. Treatment of POP often involves repositioning the organs using a polypropylene mesh, which has recently been found to have relatively high rates of complications. Complications have been shown to be related to stiffness mismatches between the vagina and polypropylene, and unstable knit patterns resulting in mesh deformations with mechanical loading. To overcome these limitations, we have three-dimensional (3D)-printed a porous, monofilament membrane composed of relatively soft polycarbonate-urethane (PCU) with a stable geometry. PCU was chosen for its tunable properties as it is comprised of both hard and soft segments. The bulk mechanical properties of PCU were first characterized by testing dogbone samples, demonstrating the dependence of PCU mechanical properties on its measurement environment and the effect of print pathing. The pore dimensions and load-relative elongation response of the 3D-printed PCU membranes under monotonic tensile loading were then characterized. Finally, a fatigue study was performed on the 3D-printed membrane to evaluate durability, showing a similar fatigue resistance with a commercial synthetic mesh and hence its potential as a replacement.
盆腔器官脱垂（POP）是指盆腔器官疝入阴道空间，导致膨出感和器官功能障碍。POP 的治疗通常涉及使用聚丙烯网重新定位器官，但最近发现这种方法的并发症发生率相对较高。并发症与阴道和聚丙烯之间的刚性不匹配以及不稳定的编织模式导致机械加载时网片变形有关。为了克服这些限制，我们使用相对柔软的聚碳酸酯-聚氨酯（PCU）三维（3D）打印了一种多孔单丝膜，具有稳定的几何形状。选择 PCU 是因为它具有可调节的特性，因为它由硬段和软段组成。首先通过测试狗骨样本来表征 PCU 的整体力学性能，证明了 PCU 力学性能对其测量环境的依赖性以及打印路径的影响。然后对 3D 打印 PCU 膜在单调拉伸载荷下的孔径和负载相对伸长率响应进行了表征。最后，对 3D 打印膜进行了疲劳研究，以评估其耐久性，结果表明其疲劳阻力与商业合成网相似，因此具有替代商业合成网的潜力。
