Nitinol actuated soft structures towards transnasal drug delivery: a pilot cadaver study.

Sudden hearing loss can be treated noninvasively by administering drugs to the middle ear (≈1 ml) via the eustachian tube. The nasopharyngeal cavity requires high dexterity manipulation as it is restricted by the nasal vestibule, and precise drug delivery through the small cavity can allow previously unreachable areas to be reconsidered for localized delivery. Nitinol has shape memory capabilities and can be used for distal actuation accessed from small lumen and a tortuous path.

Dispersion characterization of magnetic actuated needleless injections with particle image velocimetry.

Conventional needle-based approaches in intravitreal drug delivery carry needle-stick-injury risk and could scare patients (belonephobia). Alternatively, our group has explored the application of an electromagnetic needleless injector in this paper. This work aims to improve intravitreal drug delivery, which in the future could assist physicians with automation and benefit patients by providing a needleless approach.

Multifunctional metallic backbones for origami robotics with strain sensing and wireless communication capabilities.

The tight integration of actuation, sensing, and communication capabilities into origami robots enables the development of new-generation functional robots. However, this task is challenging because the conventional materials (e.g.

Graphene Oxide-Enabled Synthesis of Metal Oxide Origamis for Soft Robotics.

Origami structures have been widely applied in various technologies especially in the fields of soft robotics. Metal oxides (MOs) have recently emerged as unconventional backbone materials for constructing complex origamis with distinct functionalities. However, the MO origami structures reported in the literature were rigid and not deformable, thus limiting their applications to soft robotics.