Form-Fitting Band

Our desire to manufacture a form-fitting band was motivated by the rising need to deliver medication to a subject over an extended period. Working in collaboration with another lab, our lab's goal was to manufacture the medium on which a drug delivery system could be fastened. The use of soft composites is advantageous in this situation -- we are able to program the original 2D square into a variety of 3D shapes. This allows for us to find a shape tailored to a specific subject, staying attached without the use of adhesives. Although the work demonstrated here is with fake mice, we wished to create a band that is not so tight that it restricts the mouse's movements and bodily functions. Manufacturability was also a key consideration -- simple, planar shapes are cost-effective when produced in mass.

During the manufacturing process, three parameters were varied and tested: band length, band width, and substrate strain. The poster shown below demonstrates the fabrication process used to create each band. To test how effective a given set of parameters was, we made visual assessments, took measurements in relation to the rodent's body, and even made an attempt to simulate 'typical movement', as shown in the video to the left. I believe this project serves as an excellent proof-of-concept demonstrating the potential application of soft composites in the medical field. The further development of this work would likely involve biodegradable materials being used as well as the creation of a computer model to predict band deformation when given an input strain.