Research

Regenerative Robots: Robotic Implant for Tissue Repair

In this project, we develop a robotic implant that sustains the growth of esophageal tissues to reconstruct the gastro-intestinal tract. The application has direct impact on long-gap esophageal atresia. The sensorimotor capabilities of the robot allows adaptive control of tissue growth while maintaining patient comfort. The robotic implant enables new approaches to tissue engineering and is a precursor to a clinical device (D.D.Damian et al.,2014, D.D.Damian et al., 2018).                                                                  

Ingestible robots for gastrointestinal wounds treatment 

Developing miniature robots that can carry out versatile clinical procedures inside the body under the remote instructions of medical professionals has been a long time challenge. We are carrying out research and development of biocompatible capsule-size reconfigurable robots that can be ingested into the stomach, locomote to a desired location, and perform surgical tasks, such as patch a wound, remove a foreign body, deliver drugs, and then biodegrade (Miyashita et al., 2016 [pdf]). 

Highly-stretchable sensors and actuators for medical applications 

Soft sensors

Soft-matter sensors and electronics have the potential to revolutionize medical robotics, wearable computing, and other application domains that require safe human-machine interaction or mechanical compatibility with natural human tissue and motion. An example of this technology is a capacitive liquid-based (eutectic gallium indium) conductive elastomer that senses pressure and shear. 

Elastic Actuators

Soft robotics has advanced the field of biomedical engineering by creating safer technologies for    interfacing with the human body. One of the challenges in this field is the realization of modular soft basic constituents and accessible assembly methods to increase the versatility of soft robots in medicine. We developed a soft pneumatic actuator composed of two elastomeric strands that assemble as a helical structure and provide axial and radial expansion to apply 2D mechanical stimulation to tubular gastro-intestinal tissues.       

Soft-matter resilient machines

Nature offers a mechanism, called homeostasis, by which life forms can maintain their physical integrity and well being. On the other hand, series of machines, including robots, cannot overcome some of the most insignificant damage, such as a cut in a functional component. The aim of this project is to develop a fundamental physical homeostatic framework in order to endow machines with the ability to sustain themselves at high entropic states such as hazards and unpredictable conditions - that is, to autonomously prevent faults and restore internal parameters balance, and thus allow the machine's continuing operation. 

Dynamical Coupling in Motor-Sensory Function Substitution

In a prosthetic hand system, this research is about seeking efficient methods to send sensory information back to the body.  Our endeavors consist in developing tactile sensing and display systems which exploit morphology as a mean to encode exteroceptive and proprioceptive stimuli, and relay enriched information to users of prosthetic hands.