Background: Current management of permanent facial paralysis centers on nerve grafting and muscle transfer; however, limitations of those procedures call for other options.
Objectives: To determine the durability and biocompatibility of implanted artificial muscle in a gerbil model and the degree of inflammation and fibrosis at the host tissue-artificial muscle interface.
Methods: Electroactive polymer artificial muscle (EPAM) devices engineered in medical-grade silicone were implanted subcutaneously in 13 gerbils.
Objective: To determine the force requirements, optimal vector, and appropriate materials of a novel eyelid sling device that will be used to rehabilitate eyelid closure (blink) in congenital or acquired permanent facial paralysis with an artificial muscle.
Methods: The force required to close the eyelids in human cadavers (n = 6) were measured using a load cell system. The eyelid sling using either expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) or temporalis muscle fascia was implanted.