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Applied Sciences
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Biomedical Applications of Soft Robotics
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Biomedical Applications of Soft Robotics

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Applied Biosciences and Bioengineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2021) | Viewed by 10609

Special Issue Editor

Dr. George Mylonas

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
The Hamlyn Centre, Imperial College London, London W2 1NY, UK
Interests: diagnostic and surgical robotics; minimally invasive surgical technology; soft robotics; human-robot and human-computer interaction; perceptual and cognitive interfaces

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are inviting submissions to the Special Issue on Biomedical Applications of Soft Robotics.

Soft robotic devices have desirable traits for biomedical applications, owing to their mechanical and biological compatibility with the tissue, as well as their ability to achieve large changes in volume, shape, and stiffness. Several designs and technologies have been introduced in recent years, based on elastomeric, plastic, composite, or other materials. However, soft devices suffer from low force exertion, poor controllability, and a lack of sensing capabilities. For these to be efficiently achieved, rigid components must be used, which can alter the mechanical behavior of a soft device.

In this Special Issue, we invite submissions exploring soft robotics devices which are currently being used or have the potential to be used in biomedical applications across scales including diagnosis, prehabilitation, therapy, and post-operative monitoring. Of high interest are devices:

  • Integrating soft proprioceptive, exteroceptive, and diagnostic sensors;
  • Exploring soft and bidirectional actuation methodologies;
  • Combining both therapeutic and diagnostic capabilities;
  • Which are modular and/or scalable;
  • Which are untethered, self-propelling;
  • Allowing phase, shape and volume changes;
  • Based on novel fabrication methodologies and new materials, aside molding;
  • Working towards regulatory compliance and certification

Dr. George Mylonas
Guest Editor

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. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 robotics
  • Soft surgical robots
  • Soft surgical devices
  • Soft biomedical robotics
  • Soft continuum robots
  • Soft serial robots
  • Soft parallel robots
  • Bio-inspired robots
  • Smart materials
  • Phase change robots
  • Deployable soft robots
  • Self-assembly robots
  • Modular robots

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 26382 KiB  
Article
Open Loop Position Control of Soft Hydraulic Actuators for Minimally Invasive Surgery
by Mark Runciman, James Avery, Ara Darzi and George Mylonas
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(16), 7391; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11167391 - 11 Aug 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2507
Abstract
Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) presents many constraints on the design of robotic devices that can assist medical staff with a procedure. The limitations of conventional, rigid robotic devices have sparked interest in soft robotic devices for medical applications. However, problems still remain with [...] Read more.
Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) presents many constraints on the design of robotic devices that can assist medical staff with a procedure. The limitations of conventional, rigid robotic devices have sparked interest in soft robotic devices for medical applications. However, problems still remain with the force exertion and positioning capabilities of soft robotic actuators, in conjunction with size restrictions necessary for MIS. In this article we present hydraulically actuated soft actuators that demonstrate highly repeatable open loop positioning and the ability to exert significant forces in the context of MIS. Open loop position control is achieved by changing the actuator volume, which causes contraction. In one degree of freedom (DOF) configurations, root mean square error (RMSE) values of 0.471 mm, 1.506 mm, and 0.350 mm were recorded for a single actuator against gravity, a single actuator with a pulley, and a horizontal antagonistic configuration, respectively. Hysteresis values of 0.711 mm, 0.958 mm, and 0.515 mm were reported in these experiments. In addition, different numbers of soft actuators were used in configurations two and three DOFs to demonstrate position control. When deactivated, the soft actuators are low-profile and flexible as they are constructed from thin films. As such, a robot with a deployable structure and three soft actuators was constructed. The robot is therefore able to reversibly transition from low to high volume and stiffness, which has potential applications in MIS. A user successfully controlled the deployable robot in a circle tracing task. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomedical Applications of Soft Robotics)
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17 pages, 3067 KiB  
Article
Virtual Reality Environment with Haptic Feedback Thimble for Post Spinal Cord Injury Upper-Limb Rehabilitation
by Álvaro Gutiérrez, Nicola Farella, Ángel Gil-Agudo and Ana de los Reyes Guzmán
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(6), 2476; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11062476 - 10 Mar 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2980
Abstract
Cervical spinal cord injury is damage to the spinal cord that causes temporary or permanent changes in body functions below the site of the injury. In particular, the impairment of the upper limbs limits the patient’s autonomy in the execution of activities of [...] Read more.
Cervical spinal cord injury is damage to the spinal cord that causes temporary or permanent changes in body functions below the site of the injury. In particular, the impairment of the upper limbs limits the patient’s autonomy in the execution of activities of daily living. This paper illustrates the use of a low-cost robot with a virtual reality platform for upper limb rehabilitation of cervical spinal cord injury patients. Vibration and pressure haptic feedback sensations are provided thanks to a custom-made thimble feedback device. The virtual reality platform consists of three different virtual rehabilitation games developed in Unity. They provide the user with the opportunity to interact with the virtual scene using free hands thanks to the data collected by a hand tracking system. During the therapy session, quantitative data about the motor performance are collected. Each virtual reality environment can be modified in settings according to the patients’ needs. A proof of concept was performed with both healthy subjects and spinal cord injured patients to evaluate the platform and its usability. The data saved during the sessions are analyzed to validate the importance of haptic feedback and stored both for patients and therapists to control the performance and the recovery process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomedical Applications of Soft Robotics)
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Review

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21 pages, 3993 KiB  
Review
Fusing Dexterity and Perception for Soft Robot-Assisted Minimally Invasive Surgery: What We Learnt from STIFF-FLOP
by Abu Bakar Dawood, Jan Fras, Faisal Aljaber, Yoav Mintz, Alberto Arezzo, Hareesh Godaba and Kaspar Althoefer
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(14), 6586; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11146586 - 17 Jul 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3537
Abstract
In recent years we have seen tremendous progress in the development of robotic solutions for minimally invasive surgery (MIS). Indeed, a number of robot-assisted MIS systems have been developed to product level and are now well-established clinical tools; Intuitive Surgical’s very successful da [...] Read more.
In recent years we have seen tremendous progress in the development of robotic solutions for minimally invasive surgery (MIS). Indeed, a number of robot-assisted MIS systems have been developed to product level and are now well-established clinical tools; Intuitive Surgical’s very successful da Vinci Surgical System a prime example. The majority of these surgical systems are based on the traditional rigid-component robot design that was instrumental in the third industrial revolution—especially within the manufacturing sector. However, the use of this approach for surgical procedures on or around soft tissue has come under increasing criticism. The dangers of operating with a robot made from rigid components both near and within a patient are considerable. The EU project STIFF-FLOP, arguably the first large-scale research programme on soft robots for MIS, signalled the start of a concerted effort among researchers to investigate this area more comprehensively. While soft robots have many advantages over their rigid-component counterparts, among them high compliance and increased dexterity, they also bring their own specific challenges when interacting with the environment, such as the need to integrate sensors (which also need to be soft) that can determine the robot’s position and orientation (pose). In this study, the challenges of sensor integration are explored, while keeping the surgeon’s perspective at the forefront of ourdiscussion. The paper critically explores a range of methods, predominantly those developed during the EU project STIFF-FLOP, that facilitate the embedding of soft sensors into articulate soft robot structures using flexible, optics-based lightguides. We examine different optics-based approaches to pose perception in a minimally invasive surgery settings, and methods of integration are also discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomedical Applications of Soft Robotics)
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