The goal of this project is to create a transformative robotic technology that utilizes Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) systems to power, control and image robots under the guidance and control of a clinician. Specifically, the research effort will be organized around three tasks: (1) creation of design principles for MRI-powered actuators, (2) development of motion planning and control algorithms for MRI-powered robots, and (3) design of MRI pulse sequences for closed-loop motor control. This tether-less robot technology addresses the needs for small, low cost medical robots identified in the Roadmap for US Robotics and can be exploited for robots ranging in size from centimeters down to fractions of a millimeter. At the centimeter scale, it could be used for robots designed to crawl inside body cavities to perform interventions and also for robotic prosthetic implants. At the millimeter and sub-millimeter scale, groups of MRI-powered robots can swim inside fluid-filled regions of the body to perform targeted therapies, such as drug and cell delivery, or to assemble as a sensor network. Two testbeds at these different scales will be used to evaluate and demonstrate the technology.
This research addresses a largely unexplored frontier in medical robotics that could revolutionize the standard of care for many serious medical conditions currently associated with both high mortality rates and high societal costs. The location of the PI's lab inside a teaching hospital provides a unique environment to integrate the research and education of the engineering and medical disciplines. To promote an understanding of engineering and medicine along with the value of learning and research to low income and minority school students, the project team will partner with local educational organizations. Furthermore, the project technology will consist of algorithms and software that can be utilized by researchers and educators throughout the country to provide fundamentally new capabilities to existing multi-million dollar equipment. The ultra-minimally invasive medical robots developed using this technology can potentially provide substantial societal benefits in terms of reduced trauma, precise image-based control and lower cost.
