Discovering Ways to Mend Growing Bodies: The Bioengineering of Devices for the Youngest Patients Brings Unique Challenges and Rewards

Some babies are born with a rare condition known as esophageal atresia, in which part of the connection between the throat and stomach is missing or nonfunctional. While this was once untreatable and fatal, in recent years surgeons have developed a method using traction to stretch the tissues out on each end until, over time, they are long enough to be sewn together and so substitute for the missing portion of the esophagus. The procedure has allowed many infant patients to go home with a full, normal life ahead of them. But the procedure, which costs US$500,000 and upwards, requires that the patient be fully sedated and unconscious in an intensive-care unit (ICU) for between one and two months to avoid any bodily motions that could tear out internal sutures. Such research on internal robotics is just one of a wide variety of new approaches being used to harness the latest technologies in service of young patients. The number of such patients may be small compared to the number with major diseases drawing most research funding; but, with their entire lifetimes still lying ahead of them, these young patients' prospects for a normal life-or even survival-may hinge on bioengineers finding the right new insight and the means to put that insight into action.