Electromagnetically controllable tethered and untethered micro/nanorobots for robotic interventions and cell therapy
Medical micro/nanorobots are tiny robots, often smaller than a millimeter, designed to perform specific tasks in the field of medicine. Integrating electromagnetic systems with medical micro/nanorobots could bring a new era of healthcare, characterized by unparalleled precision and innovative control methods. This presentation will introduce both tethered and untethered micro/nanorobots for precise vascular interventions and targeted cell delivery. Initially, a microrobotic guidewire equipped with a soft magnetic steerable robot (MSR) at its tip will be introduced for active neuro and cardiovascular intervention, supported by a human-scale electromagnetic system, biplane X-ray imaging system, and a remote-control system. This proposed approach enables active and teleoperated guidewire and catheter navigation, thereby improving the precision of vascular interventions. Secondly, the discussion will cover magnetically actuated untethered micro/nanorobots, highlighting their ability to achieve selective neurite alignment, establish neuronal connections, and perform in vitro/ex vivo/in vivo cell delivery, underscoring their potential applications in translational research. For example, a magnetic neurospheroid microrobot (Mag-Neurobot), which integrates primary neuronal cells with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs), demonstrates both morphological and functional neural connections, paving the way for artificial neural networks. The presentation will conclude with a brief introduction to a machine learning approach in a virtual reality environment for the adaptable control of microrobots, offering a novel control methodology. These advancements suggest promising new directions for minimally invasive medical technologies, including innovative vascular intervention, enhanced cell therapy, next-generation cancer treatments, and beyond.
Hongsoo Choi is a professor in the Department of Robotics and Mechatronics Engineering at Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) and a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and Korean Academy of Science and Technology (KAST). He received his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Yeungnam University and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Washington State University. His work has earned him numerous awards, including the Prime Minister's Commendation for Science, Information and Communication Day of Korea in 2020, the National Intellectual Property Award from the Presidential Council on Intellectual Property of Korea in 2019, and the Prize of the State of Geneva at the 47th International Exhibition of Inventions in Geneva, Switzerland, also in 2019. He was recognized as one of the top 10 Korean mechanical technologists two years in a row: in 2022 for his work on the Robotic Cardiovascular Interventional System and in 2023 for a microrobot enabling ex vivo functional neural connectivity. His research interests include micro/nanorobots, magnetic cell and gene therapy for cancer and neural diseases, magnetic field generating systems, BioMEMS, and piezoelectric MEMS devices.