In Utero deploying system for fetal myelomeningocele repari

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K08536
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 55010:General surgery and pediatric surgery-related
• Research Institution: Osaka University (2019-2020); The University of Tokyo (2018)
• Principal Investigator: Watanabe Miho 大阪大学, 医学系研究科, 助教 (40791728)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 小西 聡 立命館大学, 理工学部, 教授 (50288627)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 脊髄髄膜瘤 / 胎児治療 / 胎児再生治療 / 細胞

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Myelomeningocele (MMC) is the most severe form of spina bifida. Although fetal surgical repair of an MMC at mid gestation has been shown to improve outcomes, open fetal surgery still has risks for both the mother and fetus. Thus, the development of a less invasive approach than the current open surgical approach is desirable to further improve neurological symptoms and reduce maternal and fetal risks. In this project, We created a thin-film drug delivery microdevice for a fetoscopic approach to inject cells over the MMC defect. This novel drug delivery microdevice functions for both suction-fixing and drug-retention on fetal skin in water. Also, the adhesion of the device was improved by adding a needle fixing structure and adhesive sheet.

Free Research Field

小児外科、胎児外科

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究で行う、単ポートの子宮鏡を使用してデバイスを子宮内に挿入して再生誘導による組織被覆を行う胎児治療は、子宮壁・羊膜への侵襲が最小限に抑えられ母体合併症の軽減が大いに期待できるBreakthroughとなりえる技術開発であり、これまで近似した治療法は存在せず全くの新規治療となりえる。