Perhaps you sleep on a memory foam mattress. Well, in the future, a similar material could be used to create artificial body parts. Researchers at Cornell University recently used their new “elastomer foam” to build a functioning fluid pump that looks and works like a human heart.
The poroelastic silicone foam can be formed to any shape desired, by being cast in a 3D-printed mold while still in its liquid state.
Once it sets, the material is very soft and pliable, can be stretched by up to 600 percent, and is made up of interconnected pores that allow liquid to pass through. The connectivity of those pores can be tweaked, however, in order to fine-tune how easily liquid can move through the foam.
Scientists create a pumping artificial heart – using foam [Gizmag]