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Magnetic Tentacles

Tiny tentacles a few mm in diameter and have a very soft, highly flexible body made up of a series of tiny magnets

A highly flexible body controlled by external robotic magnetic arms

We are exploring the idea of using miniature magnetic tentacles to reach many areas of the body that are currently difficult for surgeons to access. Potential uses could be in lung tumour biopsies or cardiovascular surgery, where currently the risk of tissue perforations is very high at 17%. The tiny tentacles are few mm in diameter and have a very soft, highly flexible body made up of a series of tiny magnets, embedded along their length that can be controlled by external robotic magnetic arms. We can control the tentacle shape or stiffen the body and control the tip. We are still working on how to drive the device from the outside and trialling different options.

Relevant Publications

[1]
J. Davy et al., "Vine Robots with Magnetic Skin for Surgical Navigations," IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, Aug. 2024, doi: 10.1109/LRA.2024.3412637.
[1]
P. Lloyd, E. Dall'Armellina, J. E. Schneider, and P. Valdastri, "Future cardiovascular healthcare via magnetic resonance imaging-driven robotics," European Heart Journal, vol. 45, no. 26, pp. 2271–2272, Jul. 2024, doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehae095.
[1]
S. Taccola and E. al, "Dual-Material Aerosol Jet Printing of Magneto-Responsive Polymers with In-Process Tailorable Composition for Small-Scale Soft Robotics," [Manuscript submitted for publication], p. 2400463, Jun. 2024, doi: 10.1002/ADMT.202400463.
[1]
D. Chathuranga, P. Lloyd, J. H. Chandler, R. A. Harris, and P. Valdastri, "Assisted Magnetic Soft Continuum Robot Navigation via Rotating Magnetic Fields," IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 183–190, Jan. 2024, doi: 10.1109/LRA.2023.3331292.
[1]
Z. Koszowska et al., "Independently Actuated Soft Magnetic Manipulators for Bimanual Operations in Confined Anatomical Cavities," Advanced Intelligent Systems, vol. 6, no. 2, p. 2300062, 2024, doi: 10.1002/aisy.202300062.
[1]
N. Murasovs et al., "Breathing Compensation in Magnetic Robotic Bronchoscopy via Shape Forming," IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, pp. 1–8, 2024, doi: 10.1109/LRA.2024.3426385.
[1]
G. Pittiglio et al., "Closed Loop Static Control of Multi-Magnet Soft Continuum Robots," IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, vol. 8, no. 7, pp. 3980–3987, Jul. 2023, doi: 10.1109/LRA.2023.3274431.
[1]
G. Pittiglio et al., "Personalized magnetic tentacles for targeted photothermal cancer therapy in peripheral lungs," Communications Engineering, vol. 2, no. 1, Jul. 2023, doi: 10.1038/s44172-023-00098-9.
[1]
J. Davy, P. Lloyd, J. H. Chandler, and P. Valdastri, "A Framework for Simulation of Magnetic Soft Robots Using the Material Point Method," IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, vol. 8, no. 6, pp. 3470–3477, Jun. 2023, doi: 10.1109/LRA.2023.3268016.
[1]
T. Da Veiga, G. Pittiglio, M. Brockdorff, J. H. Chandler, and P. Valdastri, "Six-Degree-of-Freedom Localization under Multiple Permanent Magnets Actuation," IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, vol. 8, no. 6, pp. 3422–3429, Jun. 2023, doi: 10.1109/LRA.2023.3268588.
[1]
P. Lloyd et al., "A Magnetically-Actuated Coiling Soft Robot With Variable Stiffness," IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, vol. 8, no. 6, pp. 3262–3269, Jun. 2023, doi: 10.1109/LRA.2023.3264770.
[1]
G. Pittiglio, M. Brockdorff, T. Da Veiga, J. Davy, J. H. Chandler, and P. Valdastri, "Collaborative Magnetic Manipulation via Two Robotically Actuated Permanent Magnets," IEEE Transactions on Robotics, vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 1407–1418, Apr. 2023, doi: 10.1109/TRO.2022.3209038.
[1]
K. Abolfathi et al., “Independent and Hybrid Magnetic Manipulation for Full Body Controlled Soft Continuum Robots,” IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, vol. 8, no. 7, pp. 4235–4242, 2023, doi: 10.1109/LRA.2023.3280749.
[1]
J. Davy, T. Da Veiga, G. Pittiglio, J. H. Chandler, and P. Valdastri, "Independent Control of Two Magnetic Robots using External Permanent Magnets: A Feasibility Study," in 2023 International Symposium on Medical Robotics, ISMR 2023, Atlanta, GA, USA, 2023. doi: 10.1109/ISMR57123.2023.10130246.
[1]
G. Pittiglio et al., "Patient-Specific Magnetic Catheters for Atraumatic Autonomous Endoscopy," Soft Robotics, vol. 9, no. 6, pp. 1120–1133, Dec. 2022, doi: 10.1089/soro.2021.0090.
[1]
A. Bacchetti et al., "Optimization and fabrication of programmable domains for soft magnetic robots: A review," Frontiers in Robotics and AI, vol. 9, Nov. 2022, doi: 10.3389/frobt.2022.1040984.
[1]
P. Lloyd, O. Onaizah, G. Pittiglio, D. K. Vithanage, J. H. Chandler, and P. Valdastri, "Magnetic Soft Continuum Robots With Braided Reinforcement," IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 9770–9777, Oct. 2022, doi: 10.1109/LRA.2022.3191552.
[1]
M. Di Lecce, O. Onaizah, P. Lloyd, J. H. Chandler, and P. Valdastri, "Evolutionary Inverse Material Identification: Bespoke Characterization of Soft Materials Using a Metaheuristic Algorithm," in Frontiers in Robotics and AI, vol. 8, 2022. doi: 10.3389/frobt.2021.790571.
[1]
P. Lloyd, Z. Koszowska, M. Di Lecce, O. Onaizah, J. H. Chandler, and P. Valdastri, “Feasibility of Fiber Reinforcement Within Magnetically Actuated Soft Continuum Robots,” Frontiers in Robotics and AI, vol. 8, 2021, doi: 10.3389/frobt.2021.715662.
[1]
P. Lloyd et al., “A Learnt Approach for the Design of Magnetically Actuated Shape Forming Soft Tentacle Robots,” IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 3937–3944, 2020, doi: 10.1109/LRA.2020.2983704.
[1]
T. Da Veiga et al., “Challenges of continuum robots in clinical context: A review,” Progress in Biomedical Engineering, vol. 2, no. 3, 2020, doi: 10.1088/2516-1091/ab9f41.

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