Medical Systems

Imaging, design, fabrication, instrumentation, control, and preclinical validation of small-scale medical robots have a wide range of scientific challenges that our CSF will serve in solving them. Such small-scale (milli/micrometer scale) wireless (untethered) robots would enable direct access to currently unreachable or dangerous-to-reach regions inside the human body for minimally invasive medical diagnostic or therapeutic operations. Such new wireless medical robotic systems would revolutionize the health care in the future, save more human lives, and improve our quality of life.

Mission

The Medical Systems Central Scientific Facility (CSF) aims to provide scientific service related to preclinical medical imaging, medical instrumentation, in vitro and ex vivo biological testing and validation, in vivo small-animal testing and validation, and related methods and technologies for small-scale medical robot systems.

Facilities

The Medical Systems CSF offices and labs are mainly located in the 4th floor of the main MPI-IS Stuttgart building and the Old Physics Hall in the MPI-IS Stuttgart building. Such facility includes:

Preclinical medical imaging systems
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) system for small animals (Bruker 7T BioSpec MRI/PET system)
- Mini C-arm for x-ray fluoroscopy
- Enclosed x-ray imaging system
- Ultrasound imaging system
Biological test, imaging and characterization systems
- Mammalian cell culturing systems
- Bacteria cell culturing systems
- Confocal and fluorescence optical microscopy systems
- Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) system
- Histology analysis
Small-scale medical robot systems
- Magnetically actuated milli- and microscale medical robots
- Acoustically actuated microscale medical robots
- Optically actuated microscale medical robots
- Biohybrid (cell-driven) microscale medical robots
- Pseudo-MRI actuation system

Most of the Medical Systems CSF facility will move in January 2023 to the currently being renovated Medical Lab in the MPI-IS building, which would also have small-animal (mouse and rat) in vivo testing and validation capabilities.

Expertise & Capabilities

The Medical Systems CSF has many expertise and capabilities relevant to small-scale medical robot systems, such as:

Preclinical small-animal medical imaging using MRI, PET, x-ray fluoroscopy, ultrasound, photoacoustic, OCT, IVIS, etc. imaging
Design and prototyping of small-scale synthetic or biohybrid medical robots
Localization and tracking of small-scale medical robots using medical imaging modalities
Small-scale medical robot actuation and control systems using custom-made magnetic systems, MRI gradient coils, acoustic systems, and optical systems integrated with medical imaging systems
Converting the existing MRI systems into an intelligent medical robot system by adding feedback control, localization, wireless communication and power transfer, human-machine interface, and other functionalities
In vitro biocompatibility and other functional testing and characterization of small-scale medical robots and their materials
In vivo small-animal testing and analysis of small-scale medical robots (in the future when the Medical Lab is ready)
Scientific help in immunological and other body responses and physiological details of given medical applications, such as targeted drug delivery, minimally invasive surgery, hyperthermia, embolization, and unclogging vessels.