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Dr. Lenore Rasmussen grew up in farm country, in West Virginia. As a youngster she wanted to be a large-animal veterinarian. When Lenore took science classes, she grew to love chemistry and that subject remained her favorite. As a laboratory technician at Virginia Tech in 1986, Rasmussen was shooting electrical current through a slab of polymer gel when suddenly, the blob seemed to come alive. Hit with 50 volts of current, the gel convulsed, shrinking to a fifth of its size. When she stopped the current, the gel returned to normal size. It hadn’t done that before! How creepy and strange that was, Lenore thought as she moved on to other tasks. That memory stayed with her for years. “If a gel could contract and recover, she wondered, why couldn’t it be used as artificial muscle? “
Dr. Rasmussen finished her Bachelor of Science degree at Virginia Tech and continued her studies, earning a Master’s degree in Biology at Purdue University. Finally, Lenore returned to Virginia Tech for her doctoral degree in Polymer Chemistry. After graduation, she was hired at a major New Jersey medical research company. For Rasmussen, working at the company was nice but she had dreams of doing more research. Leaving her secure position, Dr. Rasmussen decided to strike out on her own to focus on her research and in 2003 she founded Ras Labs, a one-woman operation. She went back to work on her own projects, notably the mysterious behavior of that electroactive gel. The memory of that ‘mistake’ project came to her again when she researched prostheses after one of her cousins almost lost a foot in a farming accident. While researching the alternatives to amputation, Lenore discovered there were few devices that looked and worked like a human limb. She found that functional prosthetics do not look human. There are realistic-looking limbs that look like works of art down to fingernails and freckles, but hardly function. She wondered if looks and functionality could be combined.
Rasmussen continued to experiment at night in her home while teaching science at Raritan Valley Community College in New Jersey. “I was zapping stuff down in my basement,” contact lenses, diaper liners, anything that absorbed water and reacted to electricity” Lenore recalled. Polymer chemists have long studied “electroactive” polymers, a family of squishy, waterlogged materials that move to an electrical current. Dr. Rasmussen made a breakthrough in 2006, when instead of bending as expected, one solution contracted like a living tissue. That was just the beginning! Since then, Dr. Rasmussen has been working on an electroactive gel that may soon be used for artificial muscle, prosthetic devices, catheters, valves, and a host of other applications. By combining her electroactive materials with fuel cell technology, she is developing a way to perform life-like movement, and is developing an energy efficient method to provide work and movement.
“Most polymers are hydrophobic, shunning water,” Rasmussen said. “Mine is hydrophilic. It’s a water-loving material.” Coming up with the best formulas to make such substances is only the first step. Next is finding a way to securely embed electrodes in the gel and to control and refine the contractions. Dr. Rasmussen currently is testing the properties of her gel up on the ISS.
She is optimistic that her work will yield improved prosthetics that will closely simulate the natural muscle movement of human limbs. Rasmussen also sees many other possibilities for using the quickly contracting and expanding material. Such a substance could behave like muscle tissue in the human gut. Shaped into a series of rings it might squeeze water through a tube. That option could also be put to use in inventing a water pump for irrigation in remote areas.
Additionally, the gel could be used in making more energy-efficient motion by incorporating a fuel cell where the hydrogen given off by a side reaction is converted into electricity. The substance also could be used in robotic devices, particularly where fine manipulation control is needed; it could be designed to power many kinds of valves, including delicate valves used to repair damaged hearts. Dr. Rasmussen advises medical device manufacturers that her gel could also be used to make catheters that change size, shrinking so they could be easily inserted, then swelling to the appropriate size after being put in place. That would make catheter insertion more comfortable for patients and easier for caregivers.
Ras Labs believes in developing, fabricating and distributing customized products that have the power to heal and save lives. This one small laboratory started by that girl in West Virginia who had a dream is now a reality. She is now contributing to the reality that NASA is aiming for—going to Mars. Raslabs technology brings healing, and is enabling technology that bridges the gap between limitation and our full human potential, eliminating disability by restoring mobility and freedom of expression. Dr. Lenore Rasmussen is one-woman scientist that truly is making a difference. It is dedication like this that will get humans to Mars and beyond!
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