Functionalized Spiral-Rolling Millirobot for Upstream Swimming in Blood Vessel.

Journal: Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany)
Published Date: May 1, 2022

Abstract

Untethered small robots with multiple functions show considerable potential as next-generation catheter-free systems for biomedical applications. However, owing to dynamic blood flow, even effective upstream swimming in blood vessels remains a challenge for the robot, let alone performing medical tasks. This paper presents an untethered millirobot with a streamlined shape that integrates the engine, delivery, and biopsy modules. Based on the proposed spiral-rolling strategy, this robot can move upstream at a record-breaking speed of ≈14 mm s against a blood phantom flow of 136 mm s . Moreover, benefiting from the bioinspired self-sealing orifice and easy-open auto-closed biopsy needle sheath, this robot facilitates several biomedical tasks in blood vessels, such as in vivo drug delivery, tissue and liquid biopsy, and cell transportation in rabbit arteries. This study will benefit the development of wireless millirobots for controllable, minimally invasive, highly integrated, and multifunctional endovascular interventions and will inspire new designs of miniature devices for biomedical applications.

Authors

  • Liu Yang
    Department of Ultrasound, Hunan Children's Hospital, Changsha, China.
  • Tieshan Zhang
    Department of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
  • Rong Tan
    Department of Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR 999017, China.
  • Xiong Yang
    School of Electrical and Information Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China. Electronic address: xiong.yang@tju.edu.cn.
  • Dong Guo
    College of Electrical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Water Resources and Electric Power, Hangzhou, 310018, China.
  • Yu Feng
    College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
  • Hao Ren
    Department of Rheumatology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. Electronic address: renhao67@aliyun.com.
  • Yifeng Tang
    National Demonstration Center for Experimental Optoelectronic Engineering Education, School of Optoelectronic Engineering, Changchun University of Science and Technology, Changchun 130022, China.
  • Wanfeng Shang
    Mechanical Engineering Department, Xi'an University of Science and Technology, Xi'an 710054, China.
  • Yajing Shen
    Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.

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