MOMENTUM • VIRGINIA TECH MECHANICAL ENGINEERING 9 using ultrasound waves . They found the theory to be viable , publishing their results in RSC Advances . Those early tests used samples of general polymers , subjected to standard ultrasound test waves , but the generic data proved to the researchers that the idea was worth pursuing further . The ultrasound did indeed cause a deformed shape to return to its original shape when subjected to the ultrasound , though the early test waves did not fully return the object to its initial shape .
Recovery of a shape memory polymer filament when subjected to high intensity focused ultrasound waves .
The next step was to be more specific in approach . Mirzaeifar focused on responses between more specific polymers , while Shahab observed the polymer response in an increasingly fine-tuned range of ultrasound frequencies . The results have proven very favorable , Shahab said , as the group ’ s effort has yielded materials that return to almost 100 percent of their original shape . creating patented medical devices . Founder Ken Gall and Basic Research Director David Safranski agreed to join the effort , giving insight into devices that might be created or enhanced with the new technology . With that guidance and their proven science , a proposal was submitted to the National Science Foundation under its Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry program . The NSF responded with more than $ 510,000 to continue the research and pursuit of possible applications .
An early idea for such an application was targeted drug delivery . It could look like this : a container with drugs inside is injected or ingested into the body . Under normal circumstances , that container has enough drugs to both impact its target and also account for waste . A pill , for instance , has to have enough drugs to do the job it was intended for , but it ’ s also typically expected that some of the pill ’ s payload circulates to other untargeted parts of the body . In the case of this development , a drug container made of
“ While ultrasonic waves can actuate any shape memory polymer , the recovery will be partial and slow ,” said Mirzaeifar . “ We target making a new class of shape memory polymers which are particularly designed to be stimulated by ultrasonic waves .”
As the results became more promising , Mirzaeifar and Shahab approached Medshape , a company with experience
Polymers produced in Mirzaeifar ’ s lab undergo shape changing with ultrasound exposure in Shahab ’ s .