Soft Medical Microrobots

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Microrobots are devices smaller than millimetres in size that be wirelessly controlled to go inside the body for surgery, biopsy and diagnosis. Microrobots promise a non-invasive alternative to open surgery, biopsy needles and colonoscopies for many routine and emergency procedures. Our health system performs millions of invasive procedures yearly with a large cost in money spent, quality of life lost due to long recoveries and complications, and difficult in accessing care for many populations. Early studies on microrobots have demonstrated the potential of soft microrobots which can safely fold into miniature grippers, drug carriers and soft sampling capsules. Driven by magnetic fields, these soft microrobots can precisely move in 3D under computer control. However, demonstrations to date have been at the proof of concept stage and soft microrobots currently lack the required sophistication of design, ability to be tracked using medical imaging and strength needed for manipulating samples and tissue. As a result, soft microrobots have not moved out from the laboratory despite their potential for improvements to healthcare. In this Discovery Grant we will advance this promising new field of soft wireless microrobots from proof of concept to proven technology through new knowledge of operation and advances in fabrication, design and control. Aim I will introduce a new method for creating soft magnetic microrobots which are optimally designed for medical applications and fabricated using a new custom 3D printing platform we will develop. Aim II will solve the second main hurdle in soft microrobots for medicine, that of tracking the microrobots using medical imaging. We will use ultrasound imaging with new machine learning-based microrobot tracking algorithms to reliably track microrobot position and status in the body, as tested in the lab. In Aim III, we will develop the leading magnetic actuation system to create large magnetic fields which can dexterously move microrobots in 3D and activate their on-board tools in a sophisticated and controlled manner. These three aims together will represent a major advance in the understanding and capabilities of soft microrobots. The impact of this advance will be felt by patients when these results lead to less invasive surgery and diagnosis. The knowledge and technology generated will be translated to improve the innovation of Canadian industry, which is building in the area of medical robotics. There is an excellent opportunity for Canadian companies to lead in this sector, if it is supported with innovative ideas and trained HQP. This research program will train HQP in medical robotics to lead these high-impact research efforts in Canadian industry and academia. Through high-impact research results and an inclusive and diverse research training environment focused on developing relevant in-demand skills, this Discovery Grant will lead to the implementation of soft microrobots in medicine.