Robotic Manipulator for Positioning a Magnetic Actuator Dedicated to Drug Delivery in the Cochlea

International audienceThe actuators dedicated to micrometric applications are known for their precision but also for their restricted workspace. The use of a robotic manipulator as a carrier makes it possible to considerably increase this workspace. In this paper, we present a novel robotic system specially designed for positioning a magnetic actuator based on permanent magnets, used as an end-effector of the robot for steering magnetic microrobot throughout the cochlea. Using the classical mathematical tools of serial robotics, we determined the direct and inverse kinematic models of the manipulator, thus defining a reference trajectory to move the microrobot on a space as small as possible and take account of the geometrical specifications based on medical needs. A prototype has been realized with a 3D printer to experimentally validate the numerical results. In addition, the mechanical considerations for the construction of the prototype are presented

Macro–micromanipulation platform for inner ear drug delivery

International audienceThis paper describes the pulling and steering of magnetic therapeutic microparticles for drug delivery based on a macro-micromanipulator system. The macromanipulation system is composed of a 6 Degree Of Freedom (6 DOF) serial manipulator while a linear permanent-based actuator (1 DOF) is equipped at the end-effector as a micropart to precisely steer and pull magnetic microparticles. Using the classical mathematical tools of robotics, we developed the global kinematic model of the robot-device assembly, thus defining a reference trajectory to propel the microparticles. A novel actuator-based permanent magnet has been designed and realized as a robot micro end-effector to control the trajectory of a microparticle along a millimeter-sized workspace. Simulations and experiments were conducted to show the ability of the macro-micromanipulator system to steer particles on a viscous fluid simulating a biological media. (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V