Motor-Free Soft Robots for Cancer Detection, Surgery, and In Situ Bioprinting

Recent advancements in teleoperated surgical robotic systems (TSRSs) for minimally invasive surgery (MIS) have significantly improved diagnostic and surgical outcomes. However, as the complexity of MIS procedures continues to grow, there is an increasing need to enhance surgical tools by integrating advanced functionalities into these instruments for superior medical results. Despite recent advancements, TSRSs face significant challenges, including rigidity, suboptimal actuation methods, large sizes, and complex control mechanisms. This paper presents a portable, motor-free soft robotic system equipped with soft robotic arms (SRAs) that provides an innovative solution for performing MIS within complex human organs. Unlike conventional approaches, these SRAs leverage a soft fibrous syringe architecture for operation, eliminating the need for complex control systems. This design achieves precise motion control with mean errors <300 µm, effectively minimizing physical tremors. Two SRAs-one with and one without a central lumen-are developed. By integrating microelectrodes into the SRAs, the system demonstrates capabilities to support cancer detection via electrical impedance measurements and to perform radio-frequency ablation for surgical treatments. Additionally, the system supports biomaterial injections and in situ 3D printing for internal wound healing. This simple, cost-effective platform represents a promising new direction for developing TSRSs in MIS.