Soft Robotics in Biomedical Application
A special issue of Actuators (ISSN 2076-0825). This special issue belongs to the section "Actuators for Robotics".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2024 | Viewed by 4882
Special Issue Editors
Interests: physical human–robot interaction; compliant/variable compliance mechanisms; rehabilitation robotics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Despite industrial applications where repeatability, high load capacity, and fast motions are essential features, biomedical applications demand a gentle touch, safe interactions, dexterity, and lightness. Soft robotics is an emerging field of research that has gained significant interest among biomedical researchers due to its unique capabilities and performances. This Special Issue on “Soft Robotics in Biomedical Application” seeks original research articles with novel approaches in soft material designs and fabrications, soft actuation technologies, soft sensors, and control of soft robotic platforms and their applications in the biomedical fields, ranging from macroscale rehabilitations to cell microscale manipulations.
Dr. Amir Jafari
Dr. Trevor Exley
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Actuators is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- soft material
- designs and fabrications of soft robots
- soft actuation
- soft sensing
- control of soft robotic platforms
Planned Papers
The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.
Title: A Soft Prosthetic Hand for Children with the Ability to Execute Intricate and Skillful Motions
Authors: Hironari Taniguchi 1*, Ren Yakami 1, Kosuke Morinaga 2 and Shuichi Wakimoto 3
Affiliation: Department of Robotics and Design, Osaka Institute of Technology, 2 Department of Rehabilitaion, Hiroshima International University, 3 Department of Systems Engineering, Okayama University
Abstract: We have developed a soft prosthetic hand using thin McKibben artificial muscles. The prosthetic hand can grasp objects of various shapes and has the advantages of durability and high safety for the user and others. We evaluated the performance of the developed prosthetic hand and conducted user tests using only the prosthetic hand. Of the 19 tasks performed, 14 tasks were successfully completed. The user was able to achieve movements comparable to those of normal subjects in the grasping task. The results of the user test indicate that the purpose of assisting bimanual movements in daily life is sufficiently fulfilled.
Title: Elastocaloric effect in shape memory alloys: a review towards biomedical applications
Authors: Girolamo Costanza
Affiliation: Industrial Engineering Department, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Via del Politecnico 1,
00133 Rome, Italy
Abstract: This review paper provides an overview of the elastocaloric effect in shape memory alloys (SMA), highlighting the potential of this technology, so far deployed to replace the traditional vapor compression cycle in green cooling systems, for future and innovative applications in the bio-medical sector. After an introduction on SMA’s elastocaloric effect and its relevance for medical and biomedical field, the authors in this work examine the principles and mechanisms at the base of this unique property, with a particular focus on key indices essential to evaluate performances and the differences characterizing most used elastocaloric alloys, also exploring strategies currently in place to improve performances. Thereafter, the discussion will center on the state of the art of elastocaloric device’s design and development. It concludes by analyzing future directions of elastocaloric cooling for biomedical applications, including possible upcoming medical and biomedical devices, evaluating challenges that researchers still need to address for the adoption of elastocaloric property of shape memory alloys in the biomedical field.
