Magnetically actuated gearbox for the wireless control of millimeter-scale robots

The limited force or torque outputs of miniature magnetic actuators constrain the locomotion performances and functionalities of magnetic millimeter-scale robots. Here, we present a magnetically actuated gearbox with a maximum size of 3 millimeters for driving wireless millirobots. The gearbox is assembled using microgears that have reference diameters down to 270 micrometers and are made of aluminum-filled epoxy resins through casting. With a magnetic disk attached to the input shaft, the gearbox can be driven by a rotating external magnetic field, which is not more than 6.8 millitesla, to produce torque of up to 0.182 millinewton meters at 40 hertz. The corresponding torque and power densities are 12.15 micronewton meters per cubic millimeter and 8.93 microwatt per cubic millimeter, respectively. The transmission efficiency of the gearbox in the air is between 25.1 and 29.2% at actuation frequencies ranging from 1 to 40 hertz, and it lowers when the gearbox is actuated in viscous liquids. This miniature gearbox can be accessed wirelessly and integrated with various functional modules to repeatedly generate large actuation forces, strains, and speeds; store energy in elastic components; and lock up mechanical linkages. These characteristics enable us to achieve a peristaltic robot that can crawl on a flat substrate or inside a tube, a jumping robot with a tunable jumping height, a clamping robot that can sample solid objects by grasping, a needle-puncture robot that can take samples from the inside of the target, and a syringe robot that can collect or release liquids.

Overcoming the Force Limitations of Magnetic Robotic Surgery: Magnetic Pulse Actuated Collisions for Tissue-Penetrating-Needle for Tetherless Interventions

The field of magnetic robotics aims to obviate physical connections between the actuators and end-effectors. Such tetherless control may enable new ultra-minimally invasive surgical manipulations in clinical settings. While wireless actuation offers advantages in medical applications, the challenge of providing sufficient force to magnetic needles for tissue penetration remains a barrier to practical application. Applying sufficient force for tissue penetration is required for tasks such as biopsy, suturing, cutting, drug delivery, and accessing deep seated regions of complex structures in organs such as the eye. To expand the force landscape for such magnetic surgical tools, an impact-force based suture needle capable of penetrating in vitro and ex vivo samples with 3-DOF planar motion is proposed. Using custom-built 14G and 25G needles, we demonstrate generation of 410 mN penetration force, a 22.7-fold force increase with more than 20 times smaller volume compared to similar magnetically guided needles. With the MPACT-Needle, in vitro suturing of a gauze mesh onto an agar gel is demonstrated. In addition, we have reduced the tip size to 25G, which is a typical needle size for interventions in the eye, to demonstrate ex vivo penetration in a rabbit eye, mimicking procedures such as corneal injections and transscleral drug delivery.

MRI-compatible electromagnetic servomotor for image-guided medical robotics

The soft-tissue imaging capabilities of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) combined with high precision robotics has the potential to improve the precision and safety of a wide range of image-guided medical procedures. However, functional MRI-compatible robotics have not yet been realized in part because conventional electromagnetic servomotors can become dangerous projectiles near the strong magnetic field of an MRI scanner. Here we report an electromagnetic servomotor constructed from non-magnetic components, where high-torque and controlled rotary actuation is produced via interaction between electrical current in the servomotor armature and the magnetic field generated by the superconducting magnet of the MRI scanner itself. Using this servomotor design, we then build and test an MRI-compatible robot which can achieve the linear forces required to insert a large-diameter biopsy instrument in tissue during simultaneous MRI. Our electromagnetic servomotor can be safely operated (while imaging) in the patient area of a 3 Tesla clinical MRI scanner.

Magnetic Soft Materials and Robots

In conventional classification, soft robots feature mechanical compliance as the main distinguishing factor from traditional robots made of rigid materials. Recent advances in functional soft materials have facilitated the emergence of a new class of soft robots capable of tether-free actuation in response to external stimuli such as heat, light, solvent, or electric or magnetic field. Among the various types of stimuli-responsive materials, magnetic soft materials have shown remarkable progress in their design and fabrication, leading to the development of magnetic soft robots with unique advantages and potential for many important applications. However, the field of magnetic soft robots is still in its infancy and requires further advancements in terms of design principles, fabrication methods, control mechanisms, and sensing modalities. Successful future development of magnetic soft robots would require a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental principle of magnetic actuation, as well as the physical properties and behavior of magnetic soft materials. In this review, we discuss recent progress in the design and fabrication, modeling and simulation, and actuation and control of magnetic soft materials and robots. We then give a set of design guidelines for optimal actuation performance of magnetic soft materials. Lastly, we summarize potential biomedical applications of magnetic soft robots and provide our perspectives on next-generation magnetic soft robots.

A Brief Insight on Magnetic Resonance Conditional Neurosurgery Robots

The brain is a delicate organ in the human body that requires extreme care. Brain-related diseases are unavoidable. Perse, neurosurgery is a complicated procedure that demands high precision and accuracy. Developing a surgical robot is a complex task. To date, there are only a handful of neurosurgery robots in the market that distinctly undergo clinical procedures. These robots have exorbitant cost that hinders the utmost care progress in the area as they are unaffordable. This paper looked at the historical perspective and presented insight literature of the magnetic resonance conditional stereotactic neurosurgery robots that find their ways in clinics, abandoning research projects and promising research yet to undergo clinical use. In addition, the study also gives a thorough insight into the advantage of magnetic resonance imaging modalities and magnetic resonance conditional robots and the future challenges in automation use. Image compatibility test data and accuracy results are also examined because they guarantee that these systems work correctly in particular imaging settings. The primary differences between these systems include actuation and control technologies, construction materials, and the degree of freedom. Thus, one system has an advantage over the other.

Wireless MRI-Powered Reversible Orientation-Locking Capsule Robot

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners do not provide only high-resolution medical imaging but also magnetic robot actuation and tracking. However, the rotational motion capabilities of MRI-powered wireless magnetic capsule-type robots have been limited due to the very high axial magnetic field inside the MRI scanner. Medical functionalities of such robots also remain a challenge due to the miniature robot designs. Therefore, a wireless capsule-type reversible orientation-locking robot (REVOLBOT) is proposed that has decoupled translational motion and planar orientation change capability by locking and unlocking the rotation of a spherical ferrous bead inside the robot on demand. Such an on-demand locking/unlocking mechanism is achieved by a phase-changing wax material in which the ferrous bead is embedded inside. Controlled and on-demand hyperthermia and drug delivery using wireless power transfer-based Joule heating induced by external alternating magnetic fields are the additional features of this robot. The experimental feasibility of the REVOLBOT prototype with steerable navigation, medical function, and MRI tracking capabilities with an 1.33 Hz scan rate is demonstrated inside a preclinical 7T small-animal MRI scanner. The proposed robot has the potential for future clinical use in teleoperated minimally invasive treatment procedures with hyperthermia and drug delivery capabilities while being wirelessly powered and monitored inside MRI scanners.

Line scan-based rapid magnetic resonance imaging of repetitive motion

Two-dimensional (2D) line scan-based dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is examined as a means to capture the interior of objects under repetitive motion with high spatiotemporal resolutions. The method was demonstrated in a 9.4-T animal MRI scanner where line-by-line segmented k-space acquisition enabled recording movements of an agarose phantom and quail eggs in different conditions—raw and cooked. A custom MR-compatible actuator which utilized the Lorentz force on its wire loops in the scanner’s main magnetic field effectively induced the required periodic movements of the objects inside the magnet. The line-by-line k-space segmentation was achieved by acquiring a single k-space line for every frame in a motion period before acquisition of another line with a different phase-encode gradient in the succeeding motion period. The reconstructed time-course images accurately represented the objects’ displacements with temporal resolutions up to 5.5 ms. The proposed method can drastically increase the temporal resolution of MRI for imaging rapid periodic motion of objects while preserving adequate spatial resolution for internal details when their movements are driven by a reliable motion-inducing mechanism.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Compatible Optically Powered Miniature Wireless Modular Lorentz Force Actuators

Minimally invasive medical procedures under magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) guidance have significant clinical promise. However, this potential has not been fully realized yet due to challenges regarding MRI compatibility and miniaturization of active and precise positioning systems inside MRI scanners, i.e., restrictions on ferromagnetic materials and long conductive cables and limited space around the patient for additional instrumentation. Lorentz force-based electromagnetic actuators can overcome these challenges with the help of very high, axial, and uniform magnetic fields (3-7 Tesla) of the scanners. Here, a miniature, MRI-compatible, and optically powered wireless Lorentz force actuator module consisting of a solar cell and a coil with a small volume of 2.5 × 2.5 × 3.0 mm3 is proposed. Many of such actuator modules can be used to create various wireless active structures for future interventional MRI applications, such as positioning needles, markers, or other medical tools on the skin of a patient. As proof-of-concept prototypes toward such applications, a single actuator module that bends a flexible beam, four modules that rotate around an axis, and six modules that roll as a sphere are demonstrated inside a 7 Tesla preclinical MRI scanner.

Magnetic Measurement and Stimulation of Cellular and Intracellular Structures

From single-pole magnetic tweezers to robotic magnetic-field generation systems, the development of magnetic micromanipulation systems, using electromagnets or permanent magnets, has enabled a multitude of applications for cellular and intracellular measurement and stimulation. Controlled by different configurations of magnetic-field generation systems, magnetic particles have been actuated by an external magnetic field to exert forces/torques and perform mechanical measurements on the cell membrane, cytoplasm, cytoskeleton, nucleus, intracellular motors, etc. The particles have also been controlled to generate aggregations to trigger cell signaling pathways and produce heat to cause cancer cell apoptosis for hyperthermia treatment. Magnetic micromanipulation has become an important tool in the repertoire of toolsets for cell measurement and stimulation and will continue to be used widely for further explorations of cellular/intracellular structures and their functions. Existing review papers in the literature focus on fabrication and position control of magnetic particles/structures (often termed micronanorobots) and the synthesis and functionalization of magnetic particles. Differently, this paper reviews the principles and systems of magnetic micromanipulation specifically for cellular and intracellular measurement and stimulation. Discoveries enabled by magnetic measurement and stimulation of cellular and intracellular structures are also summarized. This paper ends with discussions on future opportunities and challenges of magnetic micromanipulation in the exploration of cellular biophysics, mechanotransduction, and disease therapeutics.

MRI-powered biomedical devices

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is beneficial for imaging-guided procedures because it provides higher resolution images and better soft tissue contrast than computed tomography (CT), ultrasound, and X-ray. MRI can be used to streamline diagnostics and treatment because it does not require patients to be repositioned between scans of different areas of the body. It is even possible to use MRI to visualize, power, and control medical devices inside the human body to access remote locations and perform minimally invasive procedures. Therefore, MR conditional medical devices have the potential to improve a wide variety of medical procedures; this potential is explored in terms of practical considerations pertaining to clinical applications and the MRI environment. Recent advancements in this field are introduced with a review of clinically relevant research in the areas of interventional tools, endovascular microbots, and closed-loop controlled MRI robots. Challenges related to technology and clinical feasibility are discussed, including MRI based propulsion and control, navigation of medical devices through the human body, clinical adoptability, and regulatory issues. The development of MRI-powered medical devices is an emerging field, but the potential clinical impact of these devices is promising.

Programmable assembly of heterogeneous microparts by an untethered mobile capillary microgripper

At the sub-millimeter scale, capillary forces enable robust and reversible adhesion between biological organisms and varied substrates. Current human-engineered mobile untethered micromanipulation systems rely on forces which scale poorly or utilize gripper-part designs that promote manipulation. Capillary forces, alternatively, are dependent upon the surface chemistry (which is scale independent) and contact perimeter, which conforms to the part surface. We report a mobile capillary microgripper that is able to pick and place parts of various materials and geometries, and is thus ideal for microassembly tasks that cannot be accomplished by large tethered manipulators. We achieve the programmable assembly of sub-millimeter parts in an enclosed three-dimensional aqueous environment by creating a capillary bridge between the targeted part and a synthetic, untethered, mobile body. The parts include both hydrophilic and hydrophobic components: hydrogel, kapton, human hair, and biological tissue. The 200 μm untethered system can be controlled with five-degrees-of-freedom and advances progress towards autonomous desktop manufacturing for tissue engineering, complex micromachines, microfluidic devices, and meta-materials.

Magnetic Surgical Instruments for Robotic Abdominal Surgery

This review looks at the implementation of magnetic-based approaches in surgical instruments for abdominal surgeries. As abdominal surgical techniques advance toward minimizing surgical trauma, surgical instruments are enhanced to support such an objective through the exploration of magnetic-based systems. With this design approach, surgical devices are given the capabilities to be fully inserted intraabdominally to achieve access to all abdominal quadrants, without the conventional rigid link connection with the external unit. The variety of intraabdominal surgical devices are anchored, guided, and actuated by external units, with power and torque transmitted across the abdominal wall through magnetic linkage. This addresses many constraints encountered by conventional laparoscopic tools, such as loss of triangulation, fulcrum effect, and loss/lack of dexterity for surgical tasks. Design requirements of clinical considerations to aid the successful development of magnetic surgical instruments, are also discussed.

Development of an MRI-powered robotic system for cryoablation

This study proposes a novel MRI-powered robotic system controlled with the magnetic field generated by a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. In the proposed system, we use an MRI-powered actuator unit proposed in the previous study and a spherical positioning mechanism. The actuator unit contains a ferromagnetic sphere, which acts as a power source and is used to control the positioning unit inside the MRI environment. These elements enable the development of a remote needle tip positioning system for use within the MRI scanner. Potential applications of the developed system include the automation of procedures during under MRI inspections, especially the cryoablation of breast cancer. In this paper, we report on the performance evaluation and the MR-safety of the proposed system and describe the newly developed spherical positioning mechanism, which can be activated by the actuator units.

Magnetically driven medical devices: a review

A widely accepted definition of a medical device is an instrument or apparatus that is used to diagnose, prevent or treat disease. Medical devices take a broad range of forms and utilize various methods to operate, such as physical, mechanical or thermal. Of particular interest in this paper are the medical devices that utilize magnetic field sources to operate. The exploitation of magnetic fields to operate or drive medical devices has become increasingly popular due to interesting characteristics of magnetic fields that are not offered by other phenomena, such as mechanical contact, hydrodynamics and thermodynamics. Today, there is a wide range of magnetically driven medical devices purposed for different anatomical regions of the body. A review of these devices is presented and organized into two groups: permanent magnetically driven devices and electromagnetically driven devices. Within each category, the discussion will be further segregated into anatomical regions (e.g., gastrointestinal, ocular, abdominal, thoracic, etc.).

Six-degree-of-freedom magnetic actuation for wireless microrobotics

Existing remotely actuated magnetic microrobots exhibit a maximum of only five-degree-of-freedom (DOF) actuation, as creation of a driving torque about the microrobot magnetization axis is not achievable. This lack of full orientation control limits the effectiveness of existing microrobots for precision tasks of object manipulation and orientation for advanced medical, biological and micromanufacturing applications. This paper presents a magnetic actuation method that allows remotely powered microrobots to achieve full six-DOF actuation by considering the case of a non-uniform magnetization profile within the microrobot body. This non-uniform magnetization allows for additional rigid-body torques to be induced from magnetic forces via a moment arm. A general analytical model presents the working principle for continuous and discrete magnetization profiles, which is applied to permanent or non-permanent (soft) magnet bodies. Several discrete-magnetization designs are also presented which possess reduced coupling between magnetic forces and induced rigid-body torques. Design guidelines are introduced which can be followed to ensure that a magnetic microrobot design is capable of six-DOF actuation. A simple permanent-magnet prototype is fabricated and used to quantitatively demonstrate the accuracy of the analytical model in a constrained-DOF environment and qualitatively for free motion in a viscous liquid three-dimensional environment. Results show that desired forces and torques can be created with high precision and limited parasitic actuation, allowing for full six-DOF actuation using limited feedback control.

Development of an MRI-Compatible, Compact, Rotary-Linear Piezoworm Actuator

A piezoelectric actuator was developed to operate safely deep inside the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine bore. It is based on novel design that produces linear and rotary motion simultaneously increasing the accuracy of medical needle insertion procedures. The actuation method is based on the piezoworm principle, minimizing the actuator size, maximizing output force, and permitting micrometer scale insertion accuracy. Beryllium copper with high stiffness and strength was used in constructing the actuator to minimize image distortion and to achieve the targeted performance. Performance tests were performed by controlling the frequency input and observing the effect on speed, force and torque. The device achieved a linear speed of 5.4 mm/s and a rotary speed of 10.5 rpm.

Laparoscopic Tissue Retractor Based on Local Magnetic Actuation

Magnetic instruments for laparoscopic surgery have the potential to enhance triangulation and reduce invasiveness, as they can be rearranged inside the abdominal cavity and do not need a dedicated port during the procedure. Onboard actuators can be used to achieve a controlled and repeatable motion at the interface with the tissue. However, actuators that can fit through a single laparoscopic incision are very limited in power and do not allow performance of surgical tasks such as lifting an organ. In this study, we present a tissue retractor based on local magnetic actuation (LMA). This approach combines two pairs of magnets, one providing anchoring and the other transferring motion to an internal mechanism connected to a retracting lever. Design requirements were derived from clinical considerations, while finite element simulations and static modeling were used to select the permanent magnets, set the mechanism parameters, and predict the lifting and supporting capabilities of the tissue retractor. A three-tier validation was performed to assess the functionality of the device. First, the retracting performance was investigated via a benchtop experiment, by connecting an increasing load to the lever until failure occurred, and repeating this test for different intermagnetic distances. Then, the feasibility of liver resection was studied with an ex vivo experiment, using porcine hepatic tissue. Finally, the usability and the safety of the device were tested in vivo on an anesthetized porcine model. The developed retractor is 154 mm long, 12.5 mm in diameter, and weights 39.16 g. When abdominal wall thickness is 2 cm, the retractor is able to lift more than ten times its own weight. The model is able to predict the performance with a relative error of 9.06 ± 0.52%. Liver retraction trials demonstrate that the device can be inserted via laparoscopic access, does not require a dedicated port, and can perform organ retraction. The main limitation is the reduced mobility due to the length of the device. In designing robotic instrument for laparoscopic surgery, LMA can enable the transfer of a larger amount of mechanical power than what is possible to achieve by embedding actuators on board. This study shows the feasibility of implementing a tissue retractor based on this approach and provides an illustration of the main steps that should be followed in designing a LMA laparoscopic instrument.

Theoretical analysis of magnetically propelled microrobots in the cardiovascular system

The field of medical microrobotics is rapidly progressing; however, it is particularly challenging to control microrobots inside blood vessels. In this paper, the magnetic propulsion of a microrobot in pulsating flow is investigated. Regarding this task, the advantages of a reduced blood flow velocity are examined. The required magnetic field gradient in relation to the size of the microrobot is theoretically analyzed and compared to that for propulsion during reduced blood flow velocity. Quantitative and qualitative advantages together with the practical challenges are discussed.

An MR-conditional high-torque pneumatic stepper motor for MRI-guided and robot-assisted intervention

Magnetic resonance imaging allows for visualizing detailed pathological and morphological changes of soft tissue. MR-conditional actuations have been widely investigated for development of image-guided and robot-assisted surgical devices under the Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This paper presents a simple design of MR-conditional stepper motor which can provide precise and high-torque actuation without adversely affecting the MR image quality. This stepper motor consists of two MR-conditional pneumatic cylinders and the corresponding supporting structures. Alternating the pressurized air can drive the motor to rotate each step in 3.6° with the motor coupled to a planetary gearbox. Experimental studies were conducted to validate its dynamics performance. Maximum 800 mN m output torque is achieved. The motor accuracy independently varied by two factors: motor operating speed and step size, was also investigated. The motor was tested within a 3T Siemens MRI scanner (MAGNETOM Skyra, Siemens Medical Solutions, Erlangen, Germany) and a 3T GE MRI scanner (GE SignaHDx, GE Healthcare, Milwaukee, WI, USA). The image artifact and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) were evaluated for study of its MRI compliancy. The results show that the presented pneumatic stepper motor generated 2.35% SNR reduction in MR images. No observable artifact was presented besides the motor body itself. The proposed motor test also demonstrates a standard to evaluate the pneumatic motor capability for later incorporation with motorized devices used under MRI.