A Magnetic Robotic Platform for Enhanced Stem-Cell-Based Tendon Repair

Robotics enables regenerative medicine to be more precise, less invasive, and more targeted. Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy shows great potential for tissue regeneration, but challenges such as low cell survival and limited differentiation ability after in vivo implantation hinder its clinical translation. In this study, we propose a magnetic robotic platform capable of autonomously recognizing and targeting injury sites, as well as delivering noninvasive magnetic stimuli to programmatically regulate MSC functions for tendon repair. This platform integrates 3D-MRI with real-time recognition to enable spatial perception of deep tissues, which is visualized through panoramic simulation. It provides an engineering-precise and intelligent automated magnetic stimulation for the diverse tendon injuries scenarios. We identified pulse electromagnetic field (PEMF) parameters that induced proliferation and tenogenesis of MSCs, respectively, and demonstrated the feasibility of programmed PEMF to sequentially regulate cell behaviors of transplanted MSCs, which contributed to the structure and functional recovery of rat injured tendons. Furthermore, we elucidated the underlying molecular mechanisms by which different magnetic stimuli regulate MSC functions, providing insight into PEMF-mediated MSCs responses. Generally, this magnetic robotic system offers a noninvasive, precise, and biosafe strategy to enhance MSC-based therapies, with significant implications for clinical applications and broader regenerative medicine.