How Smart are Smart Materials? A Conceptual and Ethical Analysis of Smart Lifelike Materials for the Design of Regenerative Valve Implants.

IF 2.7 2区 哲学 Q1 ENGINEERING, MULTIDISCIPLINARY
Anne-Floor J de Kanter, Karin R Jongsma, Carlijn V C Bouten, Annelien L Bredenoord
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Abstract

It may soon become possible not just to replace, but to re-grow healthy tissues after injury or disease, because of innovations in the field of Regenerative Medicine. One particularly promising innovation is a regenerative valve implant to treat people with heart valve disease. These implants are fabricated from so-called 'smart', 'lifelike' materials. Implanted inside a heart, these implants stimulate re-growth of a healthy, living heart valve. While the technological development advances, the ethical implications of this new technology are still unclear and a clear conceptual understanding of the notions 'smart' and 'lifelike' is currently lacking. In this paper, we explore the conceptual and ethical implications of the development of smart lifelike materials for the design of regenerative implants, by analysing heart valve implants as a showcase. In our conceptual analysis, we show that the materials are considered 'smart' because they can communicate with human tissues, and 'lifelike' because they are structurally similar to these tissues. This shows that regenerative valve implants become intimately integrated in the living tissues of the human body. As such, they manifest the ontological entanglement of body and technology. In our ethical analysis, we argue this is ethically significant in at least two ways: It exacerbates the irreversibility of the implantation procedure, and it might affect the embodied experience of the implant recipient. With our conceptual and ethical analysis, we aim to contribute to responsible development of smart lifelike materials and regenerative implants.

智能材料有多智能?用于再生瓣膜植入物设计的智能救生材料的概念和伦理分析。
由于再生医学领域的创新,它可能很快不仅可以替代,而且可以在损伤或疾病后重新生长健康组织。一项特别有前景的创新是一种再生瓣膜植入物,用于治疗心脏瓣膜病患者。这些植入物是由所谓的“智能”、“逼真”材料制成的。植入心脏后,这些植入物会刺激健康、有生命的心脏瓣膜的重新生长。尽管技术发展不断进步,但这项新技术的伦理含义仍不清楚,目前对“智能”和“逼真”这两个概念缺乏清晰的概念理解。在本文中,我们通过分析心脏瓣膜植入物作为展示,探讨了开发用于再生植入物设计的智能逼真材料的概念和伦理意义。在我们的概念分析中,我们表明,这些材料被认为是“智能的”,因为它们可以与人体组织交流,而“逼真的”是因为它们在结构上与这些组织相似。这表明再生瓣膜植入物与人体的活体组织紧密结合。因此,它们体现了身体与技术的本体论纠缠。在我们的伦理分析中,我们认为这至少在两个方面具有伦理意义:它加剧了植入程序的不可逆性,并可能影响植入物接受者的具体体验。通过我们的概念和伦理分析,我们的目标是为负责任地开发智能逼真材料和再生植入物做出贡献。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
Science and Engineering Ethics
Science and Engineering Ethics 综合性期刊-工程:综合
CiteScore
10.70
自引率
5.40%
发文量
54
审稿时长
>12 weeks
期刊介绍: Science and Engineering Ethics is an international multidisciplinary journal dedicated to exploring ethical issues associated with science and engineering, covering professional education, research and practice as well as the effects of technological innovations and research findings on society. While the focus of this journal is on science and engineering, contributions from a broad range of disciplines, including social sciences and humanities, are welcomed. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, ethics of new and emerging technologies, research ethics, computer ethics, energy ethics, animals and human subjects ethics, ethics education in science and engineering, ethics in design, biomedical ethics, values in technology and innovation. We welcome contributions that deal with these issues from an international perspective, particularly from countries that are underrepresented in these discussions.
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