Optically-guided instrument for transapical beating-heart delivery of artificial mitral chordae tendineae.

Objective: We sought to develop an instrument that would enable the delivery of artificial chordae tendineae (ACT) using optical visualization of the leaflet inside the beating heart.

Methods: A delivery instrument was developed together with an ACT anchor system. The instrument incorporates an optically clear silicone grasping surface in which are embedded a camera and LED for direct leaflet visualization during localization, grasping, and chordal delivery.

In vivo tissue regeneration with robotic implants.

Robots that reside inside the body to restore or enhance biological function have long been a staple of science fiction. Creating such robotic implants poses challenges both in signaling between the implant and the biological host, as well as in implant design. To investigate these challenges, we created a robotic implant to perform in vivo tissue regeneration via mechanostimulation.