A Flexible Magnetic Soft Continuum Robot for Manipulation and Measurement at Microscale

Magnetic soft continuum robots have received interest in diverse fields, because of their active steering and remote control capabilities. However, a more challenging task is the development of magnetic soft continuum robots for analyzing the mechanical properties of biological tissue during intravascular treatments. Here, we present a force-controlled soft continuum robot with a magnetic end-effector for measurement of biological mechanical properties. The magnetically driven system contains a set of Helmholtz coils and a permanent magnet. The Helmholtz coils produce an oscillating magnetic field for overcoming friction. The permanent magnet is responsible for steering and providing traction for forward motion. The force on the magnetic tip was calibrated with a soft rod with a known elasticity coefficient. Experimental results indicated that the magnetic soft continuum robot successfully achieved manipulation and stiffness measurement of biological embryos. This strategy for mechanical property analysis of biological tissue expands the opportunities for use of soft continuum robots and broadens the field of functionalization for continuum microrobots

Enabling the future of colonoscopy with intelligent and autonomous magnetic manipulation

Early diagnosis of colorectal cancer substantially improves survival. However, over half of cases are diagnosed late due to the demand for colonoscopy—the ‘gold standard’ for screening—exceeding capacity. Colonoscopy is limited by the outdated design of conventional endoscopes, which are associated with high complexity of use, cost and pain. Magnetic endoscopes are a promising alternative and overcome the drawbacks of pain and cost, but they struggle to reach the translational stage as magnetic manipulation is complex and unintuitive. In this work, we use machine vision to develop intelligent and autonomous control of a magnetic endoscope, enabling non-expert users to effectively perform magnetic colonoscopy in vivo. We combine the use of robotics, computer vision and advanced control to offer an intuitive and effective endoscopic system. Moreover, we define the characteristics required to achieve autonomy in robotic endoscopy. The paradigm described here can be adopted in a variety of applications where navigation in unstructured environments is required, such as catheters, pancreatic endoscopy, bronchoscopy and gastroscopy. This work brings alternative endoscopic technologies closer to the translational stage, increasing the availability of early-stage cancer treatments