Professor, Department of Electromechanical EngineeringDirector, Smart and Micro/Nano Systems LaboratoryUniversity of Macau
Dr. Qingsong Xu is a Professor at the Department of Electromechanical Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Macau, and Director of the Smart and Micro/Nano Systems Laboratory. His current research involves intelligent micro/nanosystems, precision robotics, and medical applications. He has published four monographs and over 370 papers in international journals and conferences, which have been cited over 12000 times in Google Scholar with an H-index of 62. He currently serves as an Associate Editor of IEEE T-RO and IEEE T-ASE. He was a Technical Editor of IEEE/ASME T-MECH and Associate Editor of IEEE RA-L. Prof. Xu has received more than ten best paper awards from international conferences. He has received multiple times of Macao Science and Technology Awards from Macao SAR, China. He has been selected into the top 2% of the world’s top scientists released by Stanford University since 2019. He is a Fellow of ASME.
Magnetic Microrobots for Biomedical Micromanipulation
Abstract Traditional biological micromanipulation is implemented by rigid microinjectors and micromanipulators to operate biological samples. New technologies and tools are necessary for better manipulating soft biological targets by reducing the damage. Magnetic microrobots driven by magnetic fields provide a promising solution. However, applying such tiny microrobots to realize dexterous manipulation tasks is challenging. Recently, we have proposed a set of magnetic microrobots dedicated to biomedical micromanipulation. First, to improve the output force of magnetic microrobots and make them pass obstacles on uneven surfaces, tentacle-like microrobot swarms are introduced by reconfiguring microparticles rapidly into carpets with multiple cilia. Second, to enhance micro-cargo transport efficiency in a biofluid environment, magnetic hydrogel soft capsule microrobots are developed for long-range lossless targeted delivery of microrobot swarms in the digestive system. Third, for flexible intervention manipulation, a spreadable magnetic miniature soft robot with on-demand hardening is presented by mixing magnetic microparticles with non-Newtonian materials. The tiny robot can guide a wire or a medical catheter to navigate complex channels under ultrasound imaging-guided intervention. These findings may pave a promising path to designing and developing microrobots for more efficient and safe biomedical manipulation.