Paolo Dario

Implantable devices for controlled drug release are extremely promising for the treatment of chronic diseases, such as type 1 diabetes, chronic pain, and others. However, these systems still require periodic invasive refills, which can result in clinical complications and patient discomfort. Previous works introduced the opportunity for a non-invasive refilling of these devices through ingestible capsules. However, concerns remain regarding repeated tissue perforation of the intestinal wall and the corresponding risk of fistula formation. This study presents a novel trans-intestinal port system enabling non-invasive refilling of implanted devices designed to create a stable and controlled interface between the device and the intestinal lumen. The system aims to avoid tissue damage due to repeated needle insertions, ensure proper alignment between the device and capsule, and prevent leakage of digestive fluids into the peritoneal cavity. The design and fabrication of this trans-intestinal port are presented, together with the results of bench tests and a preliminary short-term in vivo test. These findings highlight the potential of the proposed trans-intestinal port as an innovative solution to enable a non-invasive periodic refilling of implantable drug delivery systems, paving the way to a full validation of this technology in the future, which will require long-term in vivo experiments.

Colonoscopy is crucial for early screening and treatment of colorectal lesions. Conventional colonoscopes are “back-wheel” actuated and semirigid devices, often resulting in time-consuming and invasive procedures for patients. In this article, the authors present the design, development, and preliminary validation of a “front-wheel” robotic origami-based soft endoscope (ROSE) for colonoscopy. ROSE (outer diameter: 26 mm; length: 100 mm) comprises two dumbbell-shaped anchoring actuators (AAs) connected at the ends of an origami-based central actuator (CA). Combining the radially-constrained origami structure of the CA (elongation of ∼43 mm at 25 kPa without external boundaries; expansion ratio > 350%) with AAs operating with an inflation and suction mechanism (inflation of chambers at 14 kPa and suction at −80 kPa), ROSE achieved a clinically-relevant target force ≥ 6 N with AAs’ low radial lumen expansion of ∼3 mm (∼18 N and ∼11 N for anchoring and pushing forces, respectively). Bending, aided by a cable-driven mechanism, achieves a maximum angle of ∼150° with 25 kPa. ROSE was preliminarily validated in three-dimensional in-vitro simulators and ex-vivo porcine colon, showing efficient navigation with an average speed of ∼2.4 mm/s and ∼1.5 mm/s, respectively.

Soft crawling robots demonstrated high compliance and effectiveness in performing complex tasks in unstructured and harsh environments. They can navigate inside constrained spaces and provide superior adaptability. This paper presents a soft crawling robot with a modified Yoshimura origami-based central chamber (elongation/contraction actuator) and four electrostatic adhesion feet (anchoring elements). It was designed to perform linear and steering locomotion under specific actuation sequences to avoid obstacles autonomously, and it features a height-adjustable ability to squeeze under low gaps. A dual-morphing mechanism, enabling the origami-based chamber to have two corresponding locomotion modalities, was thus investigated to provide a simple but effective actuation method. Tests were carried out to validate the dual-morphing mechanism and to characterise the crawling robot’s performance. Experimental tests successfully demonstrated the robot’s capabilities, e.g. locomotion under low gaps (i.e. 20 mm, 66% of the height of the robot), obstacle avoidance, climbing on a sloped surface (i.e. 15 deg), and lifting and carrying objects (i.e. 80 g, ten times its weight).

Safe capsule-colon interaction for magnetically driven robotic capsules is important in clinical applications. This work presents a solution based on the amplitude information of the magnetic field to adjust the distance between the interacting magnets, in order to prevent the magnetic forces exerted on the capsule robot and the pressure on the intestine walls from being overlarge, which may cause large deformation of the colon. As the first step, the geometry of the internal magnet embedded in the capsule is optimized to approach a near-spherical amplitude of the magnetic field based on the dipole model. Next, mathematical mapping from magnetic field amplitude to the interaction distance between the magnets is presented with constraint derivation and implementation. Then, a strategy to adjust the distance between the interacting magnets is provided based on the mapping using the magnetic field information. Finally, experiments are designed to validate the pose-independent interaction distance adjustment. Compared with the previous work, the proposed solution enables the quick interaction distance adjustment between the magnets to enhance the safety of capsule-colon interaction in the magnetically driven capsule endoscopies, since the interaction distance is derived straightforwardly from the magnetic field signals, without requiring the prerequisite implementation of capsule localization.

To reduce incidence and mortality, screening of the gastric cavity is crucial to diagnose early-stage cancers. Most cases are concentrated in low/ middle-income countries (LMICs), where medical resources are limited. In this paper, we propose a miniaturized, disposable, and low-cost soft robotic gastroscope designed for screening in LMICs. The robotic platform is composed of i) a frontal soft-core module, ii) a flexible multi-lumen tether, and iii) an intuitive control handle, to provide a) a 180 deg bending angle, b) a 360 deg axial rotation, and c) linear movements with a 15 mm fine adjustment. Due to a single internal bending chamber, the diameter of the soft-core module and the tether are reduced to 7.2 mm and 4.3 mm, respectively. Mechanical performance, operational functionalities, and clinical dependability were successfully evaluated through in-vitro and ex-vivo experiments. In summary, given i) low-cost (i.e., 25 USD), ii) low invasiveness, iii) high portability, and iv) intuitive control, the disposable soft gastroscope might have considerable clinical potential for widening gastric cancer screening in LMICs.

Bioinspired underwater robots can move efficiently, with agility, even in complex aquatic areas, reducing marine ecosystem disturbance during exploration and inspection. These robots can improve animal farming conditions and preserve wildlife. This study proposes a muscle-like control for an underactuated robot in carangiform swimming mode. The artifact exploits a single DC motor with a non-blocking transmission system to convert the motor’s oscillatory motion into the fishtail’s oscillation. The transmission system combines a magnetic coupling and a wire-driven mechanism. The control strategy was inspired by central pattern generators (CPGs) to control the torque exerted on the fishtail. It integrates proprioceptive sensory feedback to investigate the adaptability to different contexts. A parametrized control law relates the reference target to the fishtail’s angular position. Several tests were carried out to validate the control strategy. The proprioceptive feedback revealed that the controller can adapt to different environments and tail structure changes. The control law parameters variation accesses the robotic fish’s multi-modal swimming. Our solution can vary the swimming speed of 0.08 body lengths per second (BL/s), and change the steering direction and performance by an angular speed and turning curvature radius of 0.08 rad/s and 0.25 m, respectively. Performance can be improved with design changes, while still maintaining the developed control strategy. This approach ensures the robot’s maneuverability despite its underactuated structure. Energy consumption was evaluated under the robotic platform’s control and design. Our bioinspired control system offers an effective, reliable, and sustainable solution for exploring and monitoring aquatic environments, while minimizing human risks and preserving the ecosystem. Additionally, it creates new and innovative opportunities for interacting with marine species. Our findings demonstrate the potential of bioinspired technologies to advance the field of marine science and conservation.

Magnetically-driven robotic capsules have the potential to become the gold standard for colonoscopy, reducing patient pain while simplifying the overall procedure execution. The usage of a robotic arm to maneuver a permanent external magnet (EPM) for controlling the motion of a magnetic capsule within the gastrointestinal (GI) tract has been successfully demonstrated in pre-clinical scenarios. However, current control strategies struggle to navigate the capsule under realistic scenarios. In this work, the authors deduce a set of motion primitives for the EPM that optimize the navigation force provided to the capsule by reducing the contact force. Such motion primitives consider, for the first time, the resistance force introduced due to the contact between the endoscopic capsule and the GI tract. The results show that the proposed motion primitives enable the capsule to manage realistic scenarios, such as a 30 mm soft obstacle mimicking the compression of an organ, while a 10 mm obstacle would impede state-of-the-art strategies. In summary, the proposed control strategy improves the magnetically-driven endoscopic capsule navigation by optimizing the locomotion force and reducing by 81% the contact force applied to the GI wall with a consequent reduction of the endoluminal stress.

Robotics is a multidisciplinary discipline which belongs to both science and engineering. In science, it contributes discovering and explaining phenomena and natural systems; this is the case of biorobotics, investigating biological systems and building biomimetic robots. In engineering, robotics responds to the needs of a diversity of application fields, from medicine to industry. This talk is going to illustrate how robotics evolved from the technologies for industrial manufacturing to current service robots, and from the foundational research in bionic components and bioinspired systems to current scenarios of robot companions and industry 5.0.