Regenerative robotics

Congenital diseases requiring reconstruction of parts of the gastrointestinal tract, skin, or bone are a challenge to alleviate especially in rapidly growing children. Novel technologies may be the answer. This article presents the state-of-art in regenerative robotic technologies, which are technologies that assist tissues and organs to regenerate using sensing and mechanotherapeutical capabilities. It addresses the challenges in the development of such technologies, among which are autonomy and fault-tolerance for long-term therapy as well as morphological conformations and compliance of such devices to adapt to gradual changes of the tissues in vivo. The potential as medical devices for delivering therapies for tissue growth and as tools for scientific exploration of regenerative mechanisms is also discussed.