1. Demonstration of navigating through a 3D cerebrovascular phantom network.
Demonstration of navigating through a 3D cerebrovascular phantom network. The soft continuum robot first passed through the sharp corner with acute angulation (between t = 0 s and t = 5 s). The robot made another sharp turn after reaching the first aneurysm (t = 11 s) based on the magnetic steering capability to reach the second aneurysm (t = 15 s). Then, it made another sharp turn at the acute-angled corner beneath the second aneurysm (t = 18 s) to reach the third aneurysm (t = 25 s) and navigated further downstream (t = 36 s). Magnetic fields for actuation (20 to 80 mT) were generated by a cylindrical (diameter and height of 50 mm) permanent magnet at a distance (40 to 80 mm). The proximal end was pushed to advance the magnetically steered distal end of the robot during the navigation. The outer diameter of the demonstrated prototype was 600 μm. Note that the continuum robot may look thicker than the actual size due to the magnifying effect of the round, thick-walled silicone vessel. Detailed anatomy and dimensions of the phantom model are provided in fig. S7.
Yoonho Kim et al. Sci. Robotics 2019;4:eaax7329
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