Medical Systems

Mission

Imaging, design, fabrication, instrumentation, control, and preclinical validation of small-scale medical robots have a wide range of scientific challenges that our CSF will serve in solving them. Such small-scale (milli/micrometer scale) wireless (untethered) robots would enable direct access to currently unreachable or dangerous-to-reach regions inside the human body for minimally invasive medical diagnostic or therapeutic operations. Such new wireless medical robotic systems would revolutionize the health care in the future, save more human lives, and improve our quality of life.

Expertise & Capabilities

The Medical Systems CSF has many expertise and capabilities relevant to small-scale medical robot systems, such as:

• Preclinical small-animal medical imaging using MRI, PET, x-ray fluoroscopy, ultrasound, photoacoustic, OCT, IVIS, etc. imaging
• Design and prototyping of small-scale synthetic or biohybrid medical robots
• Localization and tracking of small-scale medical robots using medical imaging modalities
• Small-scale medical robot actuation and control systems using custom-made magnetic systems, MRI gradient coils, acoustic systems, and optical systems integrated with medical imaging systems
• Converting the existing MRI systems into an intelligent medical robot system by adding feedback control, localization, wireless communication and power transfer, human-machine interface, and other functionalities
• In vitro biocompatibility and other functional testing and characterization of small-scale medical robots and their materials
• Scientific help in immunological and other body responses and physiological details of given medical applications, such as targeted drug delivery, minimally invasive surgery, hyperthermia, embolization, and unclogging vessels.

Publications

List of publications