Ajou University Research Team, Potential Medical Applications Including Egg Fixation
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] An ultra-small soft robot capable of grasping very small and delicate materials such as pig blood vessels or snail eggs, as well as measuring biological signals like pulse and heartbeat, has been developed.
On the 14th, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced that the research team from the Biomimicry Laboratory at Ajou University, led by Professors Han Seung-yong, Kang Dae-sik, and Ko Je-sung, developed an ultra-small soft robot (gripper) resembling the shape of a human hand.
This small robot, shaped like five fingers, can gently grasp delicate objects such as pig blood vessels or snail eggs and measure real-time biological signals like pulse and heartbeat. The research results were published on the same day in the international academic journal Science Robotics.
Existing robots (grippers) were primarily made of hard materials for the sole purpose of grasping objects, which limited their ability to handle soft targets. Additionally, integrating sensors to receive signals from the objects increased the volume, making it difficult to grasp small objects.
The research team adopted a material (shape memory polymer) whose hardness and softness can be controlled to implement mechanical properties similar to human skin. They also utilized ultra-thin silver nanowires and laser processing to reduce the size of the sensors, successfully shrinking the robot’s length to under 5mm.
The sensors mounted on the robot are designed to measure the minute movements of the grasped object and deliver thermal stimulation through the silver nanowires, enabling bidirectional input and output to monitor signals from the object while simultaneously providing stimulation.
In practice, the team successfully grasped small and soft snail eggs less than 3mm in diameter without bursting them, applied heat to hatch them, and measured the subtle mechanical movements during the hatching process. They also accurately measured the tiny heartbeat of the snail immediately after hatching.
The robot was able to instantly lift objects up to 6,400 times its own weight and successfully grasp pig blood vessels without causing damage to measure pulse. This is the first case of grasping micrometer-scale microorganisms without injury and measuring their subtle biological signals. Furthermore, by adjusting stiffness, it can gently hold fragile salmon eggs without damage and continuously lift weights 1,200 times heavier than itself.
Professor Han Seung-yong stated, "Existing robots (grippers) only measure the response of the grasped object, but the gripper developed this time can provide stimulation simultaneously with measurement, making it applicable for monitoring diagnosis and treatment processes in the medical field. We plan to challenge ourselves to develop a new platform that can mechanically grasp human cell-level organisms without injury, fix them in desired positions, and analyze their responses to stimulation, addressing many current challenges."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
