BIOHYBRID ROBOTIC RESPIRATORY SIMULATOR

BY ELLEN ROCHE, MARKUS HORVATH, CLARA PARK, LUCY HU

IRELAND, GERMANY, USA 2018

DOES PLASTIC FACILITATE THE BIGGEST INNOVATIONS IN MEDICINE?

Plastic has revolutionised medicine, and soft robotics is one of the most cutting edge advancements using the material. The Biohybrid Robotic Respiratory Simulator is a soft robotic diaphragm that moves real lung tissue, allowing the patient to breathe. The combination of flexible plastic and electronics can do things that standard robots can't. This mechanical device creates pressure in the thorax, or chest, and in the abdomen when it moves. It also has a hybrid heart that moves tissue with pneumatic air muscles.

The researchers used MRI to track the motion of a healthy diaphragm, and to convert that data into programmable instructions for the components of these ‘soft robots’. The Biohybrid Robotic Respiratory Simulator will be used in industry to test new devices, to teach design classes at MIT, and respiratory and pathophysiology classes at Harvard Medical School.

The Therapeutic Technology Design & Development Research Lab at MIT designs all kinds of implantable, therapeutic devices similar to this one. These devices use biomimicry: synthetics that can imitate biological processes, and the combination of flexible plastic and electrics can do things that standard robotics cannot.

ABOUT

ELLEN ROCHEEllen is an Assistant Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA. She has a BSc in Biomedical Engineering from NUI Galway, an MSc in Bioengineering from Trinity College Dublin, and she completed her PhD at the Harvard Biodesign Lab. To date, her research has focused on new approaches to cardiac device design. Her lab has strong collaborations with surgeons and interventionalists from local hospitals for constant input into the device design process and to enable accurate development of clinically representative laboratory and pre-clinical test protocols.

MARKUS HORVATHMarkus is a PhD candidate in Medical Engineering and Medical Physics at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. His research interests are focused mostly around soft robotics, circulatory support devices and pediatric applications. Prior to joining MIT he completed his BS and MS of Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) where he worked on guided ultrasound acquisition, image based classification of wound healing, and designing a mobile sensing platform for vital parameter monitoring.

LUCY HUAt UC Berkeley, Lucy developed a broad research background in microfluidics, bioelectronics, and biosensor devleopment. Now in the TTDD, Lucy currently works on developing soft robotics to provide mechanical assistance to the failing diaphragm, creating an "implantable ventilator". Her research interests span medical device development, human-centered design, and implantable systems.

CONNECT

Website: ttdd.mit.edu

Twitter: @ellentroche

instagram: @ellentroche