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Can Bionic Penis Help Impotent Men?
Scientists have created a synthetic tissue that successfully restored penile function in pigs and has the potential to be used to people in the future.
The “bionic penis” successfully replicates the tunica albuginea, a fibrous covering of tissue required to sustain erections and which pumps blood to the penis.
Approximately 50% of men between the ages of 40 and 70 are said to have some sort of erectile dysfunction, and 5% are said to have Peyronie’s disease, which is supposed to stem from a sex injury.
The prosthetic tunica albuginea, according to specialists at the South China University of Technology in Guangzhou, China, let the study’s pigs regain normal erection function (ATA).
Scientists have developed an artificial tissue that successfully restored penile function in pigs and shows promise to one day be used on humans. The synthetic tissue effectively mimics a fibrous sheath of tissue that is necessary to maintain erections, called tunica albuginea
‘We largely foresaw the problems and results of the ATA construction process, but we were still surprised by the results in the animal experiments, where the penis regained normal erection immediately after the use of ATA,’ said study author Xuetao Shi, a researcher at the South China University of Technology.
‘The greatest advantage of the ATA we report is that it achieves tissue-like functions by mimicking the microstructure of natural tissues.
‘This design approach is not limited to the biomimetic design of tunica albuginea tissues but can be extended to many other load-bearing tissues.’
Shi stated that the focus of his group’s research was currently on addressing problems with male reproductive health, such as erectile dysfunction, infertility, and Peyronie’s disease, a connective tissue ailment where pain is caused by the formation of scar tissue in the tunica albuginea.
Shi noted that whereas many earlier studies had concentrated on urethra restoration, less research had examined regaining erectile function.
Researchers have attempted to repair damaged tunica albuginea tissue before, though.
The difference is that in the past, research has focused on creating patches from patient tissues, but the issue with this is that their immune systems frequently reject them or other challenges arise.
Because their microstructures are different from that of natural tunica albuginea, it is also difficult for these patches to replace the natural tissue effectively.
To address this issue, the South China University of Technology researchers developed ATA based on polyvinyl alcohol, which has a curled fibre structure similar to that of the natural tissue.
As a result, the artificial material has biomechanical properties that mimic those of tunica albuginea.
As the synthetic material is intended to stay in the body for a long period, the first thing researchers had to determine was if it was hazardous to any other tissues in the human body. They discovered that it should not be detrimental.
The ATA was then put to the test on tiny pigs with damage to their tunica albuginea.
The researchers discovered that patches created from the synthetic tissue restored erectile function to the point where it was nearly identical to natural penile tissue.
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After a month, they examined the artificial tissue and discovered that it had assisted in achieving a typical erection following saline injection of the penis.
‘The results one month after the procedure showed that the ATA group achieved good, though not perfect, repair results,’ said Shi.
The scientists found that patches made from the artificial tissue (bottom right) restored erectile function to such an extent that it was almost the equivalent of normal penile tissue (top left). Bottom left shows the penis following a tunica albuginea injury
Shi observed that the tunica albuginea is typically not the sole tissue injured in penile injuries.
Repairs are frequently complicated by damage to the surrounding nerves and the corpus cavernosum, the spongy tissue that runs through the shaft of the penis.
Shi continued, “At this point, our work focuses on the restoration of a particular tissue in the penis; the next stage will be to explore the repair of the complete penile defect or the creation of an artificial penis from a holistic perspective.”
He stated that his group is currently looking into ways to heal other tissues, such as the heart and bladder.
In their paper, the researchers wrote: ‘ATA displays the capability to repair injuries and restore the normal erectile function of the ATA-damaged penile tissue in a pig model.
‘Our study demonstrates that ATA has great promise for penile injury repair.
