Sheila Russo

Boston University | BU · Department of Mechanical Engineering

This paper introduces a manufacturing technique which enables the integration of soft materials and soft fluidic micro-actuators in the Pop-up book MEMS paradigm. Such a technique represents a promising approach to the design and fabrication of low cost and scalable articulated mechanisms provided with sensing capabilities and on-board actuation wi...

Burgeoning transendoscopic procedures, such as endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), provide a promising means of treating early-stage gastric neoplasia in a minimally-invasive way. However, the remote locations of these lesions, coupled with their origination in the submucosal layers of the gastrointestinal tract, often lead to extreme technical...

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is the most common pathology afflicting ageing men. The gold standard for surgical treatment of BPH is transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). Laser assisted transurethral surgical treatment of BPH is recently emerging as a valid clinical alternative. Despite this, there are still some issues that hinder t...

Introduction: Merging robotics with laser eye surgery could enhance precision, repeatability and automation. During some eye laser procedures the patient is awake, thus eye stabilization is desired to avoid movements that could affect the treatment. Material and methods: The ESPRESSO platform has a two-stage actuation system to position a stabil...

Self-reconfigurable modular robots have been studied worldwide mainly for autonomous exploration in unstructured environments. In previous studies, robotic modules were designed to be functional only as a part of an assembled structure, and thus the exploration capability was limited. Symbiotic multi-robot organisms have been newly proposed to desi...

While interest in soft robotics as surgical tools has grown due to their inherently safe interactions with the body, their feasibility is limited in the amount of force that can be transmitted during procedures. This is especially apparent in minimally invasive procedures where millimeter‐scale devices are necessary for reaching the desired surgica...

Combining laser technology with robotic precision and accuracy promises to introduce significant advances in minimally invasive surgical interventions. Lasers have already become a widespread tool in numerous surgical applications. They are proposed as a replacement for traditional tools (i.e., scalpels and electrocautery devices) to minimize surgi...

Robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery (MIS) has countless benefits over open surgery, from shorter re- covery times and lower risk procedures for the patient to higher accuracy and broader capabilities for the surgeon [1]. However, a significant detriment to these procedures is that current systems lack haptic feedback. The lack of haptic feedb...

Medical Robotics In article number 2100254, Sheila Russo and co‐workers introduce a soft sensor for blood detection during colonoscopies. In colonoscopy procedures, surgeons can only visualize bleeding at the distal end of the colonoscope with the integrated camera. The sensor, based on soft optical technology, can detect accidental bleeding in rea...

Colonoscopies allow surgeons to detect common diseases, that is, colorectal cancer, ulcers, and other ailments. However, there is a risk of bleeding in the lower gastrointestinal (GI) tract while maneuvering endoscopes. This may be due to perforations, hemorrhaging, polyps, diverticula, or post‐biopsy complications. Thus, it is essential for the su...

Metallic tools such as graspers, forceps, spatulas, and clamps have been used in proximity to delicate neurological tissue and the risk of damage to this tissue is a primary concern for neurosurgeons. Novel soft robotic technologies have the opportunity to shift the design paradigm for these tools towards safer and more compliant, minimally invasiv...

Lung cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancers and is often diagnosed by performing biopsies with the use of a bronchoscope. However, this diagnostic procedure is limited in ability to explore deep into the periphery of the lung where cancer can remain undetected. In this study, we present design, modeling, fabrication, and testing of a one d...

Colonoscopy is the gold standard for colorectal cancer diagnosis; however, limited instrument dexterity and no sensor feedback can hamper procedure safety and acceptance. We propose a soft robotic sleeve to provide sensor feedback and additional actuation capabilities to improve safety during navigation in colonoscopy. The robot can be mounted arou...

Millimeter-sized electrostatic film actuators, inspired by the efficient spatial arrangement of insect muscles, achieve a muscle-like power density (61 W kg ⁻¹ ) and enable robotic applications in which agility is needed in confined spaces. Like biological muscles, these actuators incorporate a hierarchical structure, in this case building from ele...

Endoscopes are long, flexible instruments used to navigate the body exploiting natural orifices, reach a surgical target area, and perform diagnosis. However, the flexibility required for safe navigation conflicts with forces and dexterity that can be provided distally, and causes loss of sensor feedback, making instrument control poor and limiting...

In article number 1802739, Tommaso Ranzani and co‐workers introduce a manufacturing method that combines multilayer soft lithography, precision laser micromachining, and injection‐induced self‐folding to establish a new paradigm for creating 3D soft microstructures and devices. To demonstrate the potential of this process, they present a 12‐layer s...

Devices fabricated using soft materials have been a major research focus of late, capturing the attention of scientists and laypersons alike in a wide range of fields, from microfluidics to robotics. The functionality of such devices relies on their structural and material properties; thus, the fabrication method is of utmost importance. Here, mult...

Numerous therapeutic transendoscopic procedures exist to treat lesions in the GI tract. However, these procedures are limited by their difficulty and the amount of training required to successfully perform them. The surgeon is tasked with simultaneously steering the distal tip of the endoscope, applying tension to tissue to retract it, and manipula...

A hybrid manufacturing paradigm is introduced that combines pop-up book microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) manufacturing with soft-lithographic techniques to produce millimeter-scale mechanisms with embedded sensing and user-defined distributed compliance. This method combines accuracy, flexibility in material selection, scalability, and topolog...

Flexible endoscopes are still the gold standard in most natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) procedures; however their flexibility (necessary for navigating through the GI tract) limits their capabilities in terms of distal manipulation and stability. We propose a deployable endoscopic add-on aimed at locally counteracting forces...

Recent advances in medical robotics have initiated a transition from rigid serial manipulators to flexible or continuum robots capable of navigating to confined anatomy within the body. A desire for further procedure minimization is a key accelerator for the development of these flexible systems where the end goal is to provide access to previously...

Recently, there has been a growing interest in moving away from traditional rigid exoskeletons towards soft exosuits that can provide a variety of advantages including a reduction in both the weight carried by the wearer and the inertia experienced as the wearer flexes and extends their joints. These advantages are achieved by using structured func...

We propose a new approach to the robotic assisted ocular surgery. A Cone Beam CT is used to visualize the ocular area, by the use of a 3D image reconstruction. A software is used to transfer spatial information to a robotic arm, that can be used to move different end-effectors. A sensorized tool, equipped with force and position sensors, is connect...

This paper presents the design and preliminary evaluation of a novel, miniaturized, flexible robotic tool for laser assisted transurethral surgery of benign prostatic hyperplasia: ASTRO (Actuated and Sensorised Tool for laseR assisted surgery of the prOstate). The system is designed to be integrated with current commercial instrumentations, such a...

The mechanical design of a novel robotic module for a self-reconfigurable modular robotic system is presented in this paper. The robotic module, named Scout robot, was designed to serve both as a fully sensorized autonomous miniaturized robot for exploration in unstructured environments and as a module of a larger robotic organism. The Scout robot...

Homogeneity and heterogeneity represent a well-known trade-off in the design of modular robot systems. This work addresses the heterogeneity concept, its rationales, design choices and performance evaluation. We introduce challenges for self-reconfigurable systems, show advances of mechatronic and software design of heterogeneous platforms and disc...