Magnetic Programming-Assisted Ultrasonic Printing for In Situ Fabrication of Untethered Robots

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Robotics

Background:

• Magnetic soft robots show promise for biomedical applications.
• Current methods face limitations in injection and remote manipulation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel magnetic programming-assisted ultrasonic printing (MPUP) technique.
• To enable in situ fabrication of magnetically programmable soft robots in hard-to-access areas.

Main Methods:

• Developed a magneto-responsive ultrasonic ink cured by focused ultrasound.
• Used external magnetic fields for programmable magnetization during printing.
• Demonstrated through-tissue printing for medical scenarios.

Main Results:

• Successfully fabricated magnetically programmable soft robots with shape-morphing capabilities.
• Achieved programmable responses under external magnetic stimuli.
• Validated feasibility for gastric perforation sealing and bleeding control in vitro.

Conclusions:

• MPUP offers noninvasive, on-demand fabrication of untethered magnetic soft robots.
• The technique leverages ultrasound's deep penetration and remote controllability.
• MPUP presents a promising strategy for advancing biomedical interventions with soft robots.