Importance

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Abstract

An intelligent material unit formed of an intelligent gel encapsulated within an enclosure. When the gel is actuated by a change in temperature thereof, such as heat and/or by an externally applied field such as an electrical current, electric field, magnetic field, ultrasonic energy (or sonic), microwave energy, a laser beam or a combination thereof, at least a portion of the wall of the container or enclosure is deformed to perform a mechanical function or operation such as that of an artificial heart valve. The valve may have a toroidal base defining an interior aperture and a plurality of hollow, flexible flaps each having an edge attached to the toroidal base and overlapping the entire interior aperture of the toroidal base. Each flexible flap is filled with a gel with an electrode operably attached to the gel in each of the flexible flaps. This enables the flaps to be made flexible or rigid in response to voltage applied to the gel.

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First Claim