Tags:magnetic actuation, medical device, miniature robotics, soft robotics and stents
Abstract:
Wireless miniature soft robotic devices made of compliant and responsive materials have offered new interventional opportunities in hard-to-reach regions. Although various locomotion abilities have been achieved and studied, rare functions other than drug delivery have been properly incorporated into these soft machines. Our group has recently developed a medical system with a stent-shaped magnetic soft device (Stentbot) and the associated spatial magnetic actuation setup, which has accomplished the on-demand local drug delivery and the proof-of-concept flow diversion. The device offers a potential solution to clinical migrations or misplacements of stent-like structures. However, the most state-of-the-art single-material development compromises the performance in locomotion abilities and the efficacy of flow diversion. To overcome such a challenge, we propose a multi-material construction principle that provides versatility in design and fabrication. Based on the quantified modeling results, a prototype has been developed by leveraging different materials, which has demonstrated effective flow diversions among bifurcating structures. Further optimization of the design, material selections, and fabrication techniques will improve the working capacity of the device and enhance its real-world utilities to treat various diseases in the distal vasculatures.
Flexible Magnetic Soft Stent for Mobile Flow Diversion