An electrifying new way to seal up broken blood vessels – Associate Professor Terry Steele

We are delighted to share the research achievement of Associate Professor Terry Steele and his team, which has been featured in various media.

Associate Professor Terry Steele and his team have developed a device that offers a quicker and less invasive way to seal tears and holes in blood vessels, using an electrically activated glue patch applied via a minimally invasive balloon catheter. This device could eventually replace the need for open or keyhole surgery to patch up or stitch together internal blood vessel defects.

After inserting the catheter into an appropriate blood vessel, the glue patch – nicknamed ‘Voltaglue’ – can be guided through the body to where the tear is located and then activated using retractable electrodes to glue it shut in a few minutes, all without making a single surgical cut. Voltaglue is a new type of adhesive that works in wet environments and hardens when a voltage is applied to it. This catheter device is the first proof-of-concept application of Voltaglue in a medical setting since it was invented by NTU Associate Professor Terry Steele in 2015.