Piezoelectricity of Chiral Polymeric Fiber and its Application in Biomedical Engineering

It was shown that it is possible to control the piezoelectric motion of a poly-1-lactic acid (PLLA) fiber by applying d.c. and a.c. voltages as in a piezoelectric actuator. An electrically controlled catheter using piezoelectric PLLA fibers (PLLA fiber catheter) was developed. In the demonstration, it was assumed that thrombosis in blood vessels occurred and removal of the thrombosis from the affected area was attempted using the electrically controlled PLLA fiber catheter. This very delicate operation was performed under a microscope. A video of the test demonstration was recorded using a CCD video camera. All stages of operation using the electrically controlled PLLA fiber catheter proceeded well.