NEW DELHI: In a first, Swiss researchers developed a hydrogel implant that will help in contraception and in preventing or halting the spread of endometriosis.

Approximately 10 per cent of women suffer from endometriosis, a condition whose exact cause remains unclear. Women with the condition have tissue similar to the lining of the uterus growing outside the uterus. It is believed that during menstruation, blood flows back through the fallopian tubes into the abdominal cavity, carrying uterine cells that can lead to inflammation and scar tissue.

The team from ETH Zurich and Empa in Switzerland initially focused on developing a hydrogel as a new contraceptive. Later they found that implanting the hydrogel could occlude the fallopian tubes and help prevent endometriosis.

Hydrogels, made of a water-binding plastic, have previously been used in contact lenses, and drug delivery.

The new soft gel, similar to a jelly baby, swells from about two millimetres to over double its size upon implantation, creating a barrier against sperm and blood. It has to be a soft gel so as to "not impact native tissue and is not treated and rejected as a foreign body", said lead author Alexandre Anthis from ETH Zurich.

"We wanted to ensure that the implant was compatible as well as stable," Anthis said. The gel can be easily removed using UV light or a special solution, avoiding invasive surgery.

Further research is needed to assess the long-term behaviour of the hydrogel implant during physical activities, the team said.