Ferromagnetic soft catheter robots for minimally invasive bioprinting.

Journal: Nature communications
PMID: 34417473

Abstract

In vivo bioprinting has recently emerged as a direct fabrication technique to create artificial tissues and medical devices on target sites within the body, enabling advanced clinical strategies. However, existing in vivo bioprinting methods are often limited to applications near the skin or require open surgery for printing on internal organs. Here, we report a ferromagnetic soft catheter robot (FSCR) system capable of in situ computer-controlled bioprinting in a minimally invasive manner based on magnetic actuation. The FSCR is designed by dispersing ferromagnetic particles in a fiber-reinforced polymer matrix. This design results in stable ink extrusion and allows for printing various materials with different rheological properties and functionalities. A superimposed magnetic field drives the FSCR to achieve digitally controlled printing with high accuracy. We demonstrate printing multiple patterns on planar surfaces, and considering the non-planar surface of natural organs, we then develop an in situ printing strategy for curved surfaces and demonstrate minimally invasive in vivo bioprinting of hydrogels in a rat model. Our catheter robot will permit intelligent and minimally invasive bio-fabrication.

Authors

  • Cheng Zhou
    Department of Radiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China; Joint Laboratory of Clinical Radiology, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
  • Youzhou Yang
    School of Optical and Electronic Information and Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
  • Jiaxin Wang
    Faculty of Engineering, University of Toyama, Toyama-Shi 930-8555, Japan.
  • Qingyang Wu
    School of Optical and Electronic Information and Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
  • Zhuozhi Gu
    School of Optical and Electronic Information and Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
  • Yuting Zhou
    The Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering (Ministry of Education) and the College of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
  • Xurui Liu
    School of Optical and Electronic Information and Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
  • Yueying Yang
    School of Optical and Electronic Information and Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
  • Hanchuan Tang
    School of Optical and Electronic Information and Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
  • Qing Ling
    Department of Urology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China.
  • Liu Wang
    CAS Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and Design of Materials, Department of Modern Mechanics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui, China. liuwang@mit.edu.
  • Jianfeng Zang
    School of Optical and Electronic Information and Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China.

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