In situ sensing physiological properties of biological tissues using wireless miniature soft robots

Implanted electronic sensors, compared with conventional medical imaging, allow monitoring of advanced physiological properties of soft biological tissues continuously, such as adhesion, pH, viscoelasticity, and biomarkers for disease diagnosis. However, they are typically invasive, requiring being deployed by surgery, and frequently cause inflammation. Here we propose a minimally invasive method of using wireless miniature soft robots to in situ sense the physiological properties of tissues. By controlling robot-tissue interaction using external magnetic fields, visualized by medical imaging, we can recover tissue properties precisely from the robot shape and magnetic fields. We demonstrate that the robot can traverse tissues with multimodal locomotion and sense the adhesion, pH, and viscoelasticity on porcine and mice gastrointestinal tissues ex vivo, tracked by x-ray or ultrasound imaging. With the unprecedented capability of sensing tissue physiological properties with minimal invasion and high resolution deep inside our body, this technology can potentially enable critical applications in both basic research and clinical practice.

Automated summary

Compared with conventional medical imaging, implanted electronic sensors can continuously monitor advanced physiological properties of soft biological tissues. However, they are invasive and could cause inflammation. Here, we propose a minimally invasive method using wireless miniature soft robots to sense tissue physiological properties in situ. By controlling robot-tissue interaction with external magnetic fields, tissue properties can be recovered precisely from robot shape and magnetic fields, as visualized by medical imaging. We demonstrate that the robot can traverse tissues with multimodal locomotion and sense adhesion, pH, and viscoelasticity on ex vivo porcine and mice gastrointestinal tissues, tracked by x-ray or ultrasound imaging.