21 Computer Vision News The team envisions their technology becoming a staple in surgical settings. Currently, there are at least three FDA-approved robotic bronchoscopes. The smallest is 3.5mm in diameter and has a camera, but a manual catheter is needed to extend further into the lungs. STORM Lab hopes to integrate its robotic catheters with magnetic guidance into existing endoscopes, enhancing their utility. It has already published a study demonstrating their use in human cadaveric lungs, and its work has received positive coverage, including a comprehensive feature by CGTN (watch video below). “We’re at a stage of preclinical evaluation in human anatomy,” Pietro reveals. “The next step is preclinical evaluation in living animals because you have breathing and a heartbeat. When navigating the bronchial tree in the lungs, you need to compensate because the patient is breathing. You also need to compensate for motion due to the heartbeat. If the animal trial goes well, the next step is human clinical trials.” Reflecting on previous projects involving wireless robots, he recalls potential hazards such as devices becoming lodged inside the body. However, with the current focus on catheter-based systems, the tool can be easily pulled out if something goes wrong, so it is an inherently safer design. Nevertheless, working with magnetic fields can be challenging due to their unintuitive and nonlinear nature in space. It helps to have a thorough understanding of how they function and proficient robotic control skills to navigate and manipulate them effectively. “It’s also about how we generate magnetic fields,” he points out. “There’s a line of research that uses electromagnetic coils. In coils, you can control the intensity of the field by controlling the current. We prefer to use permanent magnets at the end of a robotic arm. You can’t control the field with current, Pietro Valdastri and STORM Lab
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc3NzU=