Recent Progress in Medical Miniature Robots

Li Zhang is a professor at the Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering and a professor by courtesy at the Department of Surgery at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). He is a director at the SIAT—CUHK Joint Laboratory of Robotics and Intelligent Systems, and a group leader in the Multi-scale Medical Robotics Center (MRC), InnoHK, at the Hong Kong Science Park. Dr. Zhang’s research interests include small-scale robotics and biomedical applications. He is elected as FIEEE, FRSC, FAAIA, FHKIE, a member of the Hong Kong Young Academy of Sciences, and an Outstanding Fellow of the Faculty of Engineering at CUHK. Philip Wai Yan Chiu is currently the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Shun Hing Education and Charity Fund Professor of Robotic Surgery at CUHK, and the Director of MRC and Chow Yuk Ho Technology Centre for Innovative Medicine of CUHK. He is also the Director of Endoscopy at Prince of Wales Hospital and the New Territories East Cluster of the Hong Kong Hospital Authority. His research interests include minimally invasive robotic esophagectomy, novel endoscopic technologies for the diagnosis of early GI cancers, endoscopic surgery, and robotics for endoluminal surgery. Kai Fung Chan is a research assistant professor at the Chow Yuk Ho Technology Centre for Innovative Medicine and MRC of CUHK. His research interests include medical miniature devices, micro-/nanorobotics, and translational medicine. He is also a co-founder of three start-up companies that are related to in vitro diagnostic devices, miniature medical devices, and medical microrobotic technologies.

1. Flow-assisted and flow-driven endovascular medical instruments 2. Magnetically controlled continuum miniature robot 3. Magnetic guidewire/catheter for endovascular treatment 4. A new drive system for microagent controls in targeted therapy based on rotating gradient magnetic fields 5. Innovation in microrobotics for the treatment of Asherman’s syndrome: A perspective study 6. Design and fabrication of a magnetic actuation miniature soft robot for biological sampling 7. Functionalization of microrobots for biomedical applications 8. Clinical imaging of miniature robots in relevant biological scenarios 9. Magnetic microrobots from individual to collective steering 10. Sperm-micromotors for assisted reproduction and drug delivery 11. Untethered microrobots for minimally invasive removal of blood clots 12. Micro-/nanorobots for combating biofilm infections 13. Magnetic actuation of flexible and soft robotic systems for medical applications 14. In vitro diagnostics via micro/nanorobotic platform