Affiliations: [a] Department of Mechatronics and Precision Engineering,
Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8579, Japan.
Tel.:/Fax: +81 22 217 5878; E-mail: [email protected]
| [b] Department of Urology, School of Medicine, Tohoku
University, Sendai 980-8579, Japan | [c] Department of Electrical and Communication
Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Sendai 980-8579, Japan | [d] Department of Urology, Tohoku Kosai Hospital,
Kokubuncho, Sendai 980-0803, Japan
Abstract: This paper is concerned with the development of an artificial
urethral valve for treating urinary incontinence, which is driven by shape
memory alloy actuators. The latest valve has been modified by adding the SMA
for the closing, which has the effect of preventing incorrect actions. Further,
a compact, non-contact induction heating system using power transmission coils
is introduced, which is improved by using an oscillation and amplifier circuit.
It is found that the valve shows good opening and closing functions
experimentally by using the urethrae of male dog through the induction-heating
system.
