Open Robotics’ Post

Excited to share that our work on Serially-Connected Soft Continuum Robots for Endovascular Emergencies is now published in IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics! Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability - two of the hardest challenges in treating ischemic stroke are: 1. Navigating around the aortic arch (especially type III) 2. Advancing through tortuous internal carotid arteries To address these, we developed a robotic system that combines two soft robots working together. 📹 In the video below, you’ll see: - System architecture: a soft notched continuum robot that deploys a soft growing robot from its tip - Control interface: a gamepad enabling intuitive control in both joint space and task space - Deployment demo: a full system run in a benchtop anatomical model that includes a type III aortic arch and a highly tortuous internal carotid artery 💡Why It Works - The soft notched continuum robot actively steers with tendons around the aortic arch. - The soft growing robot, which uses eversion to extend, then pulls an aspiration catheter through the complex pathway in tension. This tension-based strategy reduces the need for stiff catheters, making the system much softer and potentially safer for neurovascular environments. Grateful to our medical collaborators Jeremy Heit MD, PhD, Alexander Norbash, and Michael Brandel and to Elliot W. Hawkes and John Hwang for their technical insight. I especially wanted to thank Tania Morimoto and Sukjun Kim - transitioning from industry to academia has been a great experience thanks to your advice and support! 📹 Video: https://lnkd.in/gkm_cdxY 📄 Full Paper: https://lnkd.in/giG9ZE8u Check out the paper for more details on: - A design optimization which enables for joint independence - Eulerian path-based manufacturing and print settings that enabled a fully watertight actuator using Bambu Lab X1C - ROS2 based control using micro-ROS on an ESP32 Open Robotics Note: This system is not FDA approved. Thank you to The National Institutes of Health and the Charles Lee Powell Foundation for your support UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, Stanford Neurosurgery, Stanford Medicine Department of Radiology, UC San Diego School of Medicine, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, UC San Diego Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, UC Santa Barbara, Stanford University School of Medicine #SurgicalRobotics #ContinuumRobots #StrokeCare #MedicalRobotics #SoftRobotics