Preliminary Design and Validation of an Implantable Artificial Bladder

Substituting the functionalities of natural organs with artificial devices is an ambitious bioengineering challenge. This study proposes an artificial solution for the restoration of natural bladder functionalities (e.g. upon natural bladder removal for cancer treatment). The design of the artificial bladder system (ABS) is tailored around clinical needs. On one hand, a smart structural design enables to functionalize the internal walls with proper materials and to prevent reflux with custom unidirectional valves. On the other hand, a novel magnetic sensing strategy, combined with embedded electronics for efficient powering and wireless data transfer, allows to potentially restore bladder filling sensitivity. The performances of the system were validated preliminarily on the bench, achieving relative error in volume estimation below 12%. Finally, cadaver experiments allowed to demonstrate the implantability and the overall feasibility of the proposed solution, confirming the stability of wireless connection within a 100 cm distance from the implant.