14 accepted papers
Magnetically-driven surgical tools are a new class of millimetre-scale devices that could enable procedures such as minimally invasive neurosurgery due to their high dexterity at a small size. However, safe and effective control of these magnetic tools necessitates real-time observation of tool join
Magnetically-driven surgical tools are a new class of millimetre-scale devices that could enable procedures such as minimally invasive neurosurgery due to their high dexterity at a small size. However, safe and effective control of these magnetic tools necessitates real-time observation of tool join…
Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is a technically difficult, minimally invasive, organ preserving resection technique that yields improved clinical outcomes when compared to current conventional procedures but requires experienced surgeons and specialized skills. Difficulty in applying tension
Craniosynostosis involves premature fusion of the cranial sutures resulting in abnormal skull morphology and elevated intracranial pressure. Surgical intervention is necessary to correct the skull shape and to allow for unrestricted brain growth. This study presents a novel snake robot designed for
Knowledge of the tip contact force in continuum robots, which are often used as medical instruments, is critical for clinical applications. It enhances the interventionalist's decision-making, navigation efficiency, and procedural safety. However, accurately determining the tip contact force in conv
Magnetic surgical tools benefit greatly from real-time pose estimation, as this is essential for controlling them safely and effectively. Current pose estimation methods for surgical tools either focus on rigid tools, or are developed specifically for the da Vinci surgical system. In this work, we u
Various design modifications have been proposed for tendon-driven continuum robots to improve their stiffness and workspace. One of them is using locking mechanisms to constrain the lengths of rods or passive backbones along the robot. However, physics-based models used to predict these robots' beha
We propose a robotics method to independently control the position of multiple magnetic microrobots (agents) through their local magnetic interactions in close proximity. Utilizing a rapidly-exploring random tree (RRT) planner, we generate a trajectory which is then followed by an optimization-based
In this letter, a novel end-effector for surgical applications is presented that uses magnetic actuation in lieu of a more traditional cable-driven tool with the goal of providing high dexterity in hard-to-reach locations by decoupling the tool actuation from the rest of the surgical system. The gri
Precise and dexterous handling of micrometerto millimeter-scale objects is a crucial and challenging factor for micromanipulation, especially in the fields of biotechnology, where delicate microcomponents can be easily damaged by contact during handling. Many complex microrobotic techniques, scaling
Manipulation of micrometer to millimeter-scale objects is central to biotechnological and medical applications involving small-scale robotic devices. Mobile untethered microgrippers have been developed, which use magnetic fields for motion and activation of grasping. This letter extends the capabili
Recent work in magnetically-actuated micro-scale robots for biomedical or microfluidic applications has resulted in electromagnetic actuation systems which can command precise five-degree-of-freedom control of simple magnetic devices at the sub-millimeter scale in remote environments. This paper pre
We present a method to independently control two millimeter-scale soft-bodied magnetic swimmers, with nominal dimensions of 1.5 × 4.9 × 0.06 mm. A swimmer's speed depends on its relative angle with the actuation magnetic field. The two swimmers under control have different directions of net magnetic