Magnetic microactuators for self-clearing implantable catheters

Catheters are used ubiquitously in medicine for the treatment and management of many chronic medical conditions. Thus maintaining the proper functionality of indwelling catheters is critical. When a foreign material, including a catheter is introduced into the body, it triggers an immune response that can cause device malfunction. The accumulation of proteins, cells, and tissue around an implant can have catastrophic outcomes for patients that depend on these chronically implanted devices. Moreover, the procedure to remove the devices adds the further risk of complications for the patients. Magnetic microactuators hold the promise of providing untethered functionality for the removal of biological materials accumulated in chronically implanted catheters. These actuators can form smart self-clearing catheters with wireless in situ magnetic activation to improve their reliability and lifetime. In this chapter, we will focus on the reliability problems associated with implantable catheters and the latest research toward creating self-clearing catheters using magnetic microactuators.