Plastic could help re-grow nerve fibres
The “nerve guidance conduits” (NGCs) were produced by British and German engineers with a laser technique normally used to “write” complex electrical circuits.
Made from a form of biodegradable plastic, they guide regrowing nerve fibres through individual channels to aid recovery. Once the nerves are fully regrown and reconnected, the device dissolves away.
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Hide AdBio-engineer Professor John Haycock, from Sheffield University, said: “When nerves in the arms or legs are injured they have the ability to regrow, unlike in the spinal cord; however, they need assistance to do this.
“We are designing scaffold implants that can bridge an injury site and provide a range of physical and chemical cues for stimulating this re-growth.”