Shape-Memory Polymers Designed for Biomedical Applications, Georgia Institute of Technology Study

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology are developing unique polymers, which change shape upon heating, to open blocked arteries, probe neurons in the brain and engineer a tougher spine. These so-called shape-memory polymers can be temporarily stretched or compressed into forms several times larger or smaller than their final shape. Then heat, light or the local chemical environment triggers a transformation into their permanent shape.