“It could inspire a whole new class of cardiac therapies, such as improved ventricular assist devices that mimic natural heart motion.”
In the heart, as in the movies, 3D action beats the 2D experience hands down.
In 3D, healthy hearts do their own version of the twist. Rather than a simple pumping action, they circulate blood as if they were wringing a towel. The bottom of the heart twists as it contracts in a counterclockwise direction while the top twists clockwise. Scientists call this the left ventricular twist—and it can be used as an indicator of heart health.
The heart is not alone. The human body is replete with examples of soft muscular systems that bend, twist, extend, and flex in complex ways. Engineers have long sought to design robotic systems with the requisite actuation systems that can perform similar tasks, but these have fallen short.
Now a team of researchers at Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) has developed a low-cost, programmable soft actuated material that gives renewed hope to the mission. They demonstrated the material’s potential by using it to replicate the biological motion of the heart, and also developed a matching 3D computer model of it, as reported in Advanced Materials.
“Most models of the heart used today do not mimic its 3D motion,” said lead author Ellen Roche, an M.D./Ph.D. candidate at SEAS who is also affiliated with the Wyss Institute. “They only take flow into account.”
What’s missing is the essential twisting motion that the heart uses to pump blood efficiently.
“We drew our inspiration for the soft actuated material from the elegant design of the heart,” said Wyss Core Faculty member Conor Walsh, Ph.D., the senior author, who is also an Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering at SEAS and founder of the Harvard Biodesign Lab. “This approach could inspire better surgical training tools and implantable heart devices, and opens new possibilities in the emerging field of soft robotics for devices that assist other organs as well.”
The heart moves the way it does because of its bundles of striated muscle fibers, which are oriented spirally in the same direction and work together to effect motion.
The Latest on: Soft Robotics
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The Latest on: Soft Robotics
- Soft origami robot bends and twists in mazeson May 7, 2024 at 4:00 am
A soft robot that bends and twists through mazes has been developed by engineers at Princeton and North Carolina State University using origami and modern materials science.
- Robot caterpillar can twist and crawlon May 7, 2024 at 3:39 am
An origami form called a Kreslin pattern was used to build the robot caterpillar, allowing each segment to twist into a flattened disk and expand back into a cylinder. This twisting and expanding ...
- Robotics With The Fusion of Origami And Modern Technologyon May 6, 2024 at 11:52 pm
This robot has enhanced flexibility and precision control, capable of navigating intricate mazes without losing its pliable nature.
- Engineers create a caterpillar-shaped robot that splits into segments, reassembles, hauls and crawlson May 6, 2024 at 12:00 pm
Engineers at Princeton and North Carolina State University have combined ancient paper-folding and modern materials science to create a soft robot that bends and twists through mazes with ease.
- Caterpillar-like robot can split, rejoin, haul cargo, crawl through mazeson May 6, 2024 at 12:00 pm
Marking a significant advancement, a soft robot that effortlessly bends and twists around mazes was created by engineers at Princeton and North Carolina State Universities.
- Robots unveiled at National Robotarium family open dayon May 5, 2024 at 5:00 pm
The National Robotarium at Heriot-Watt University hosted its first family open day, part of the 2024 Edinburgh Science Festival.
- Soft robotics inspired by spider legs improves dexterity of delicate movementson May 2, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Soft robotics engineers at the University of Tartu are building a small robot that resembles a spider's leg. The fingernail-long leg moves more flexibly than conventional robots. Inspired by nature, ...
- CMU Researchers, Robots Head To Nation’s Capital for Robotics Showcaseon April 29, 2024 at 8:21 am
Carnegie Mellon University researchers from its Robotics Institute and College of Engineering are packing up fossil-inspired paleobionics, robotic hands and autonomous aerial vehicles to demonstrate ...
- Soft robotic nerve cuffs could revolutionize treatment of neurological conditionson April 26, 2024 at 5:49 pm
Researchers have developed tiny, flexible devices that can wrap around individual nerve fibres without damaging them.
- Soft Robotics appoints new Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Barbara Mazzolai, PhDon April 12, 2024 at 9:02 am
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., is pleased that Barbara Mazzolai, PhD, has been appointed the new Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the bimonthly journal Soft Robotics. Dr. Mazzolai joins Barry Trimmer ...
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