Advancements in magnetic steering of soft magnetic continuum robots for medical applications

Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Endovascular procedures are common treatments but rely on guidewires to navigate complex blood vessels. A major risk during these procedures is vessel or organ wall perforation if the guidewire is pushed too hard or advanced inaccurately, creating serious safety concerns. To reduce these risks, soft magnetic microrobots have been developed to make intravascular navigation safer and more precise. These microrobots attach to guidewire tips and are controlled by external magnetic fields, allowing contactless movement inside vessels. However, most current systems use predefined microrobot shapes or provide limited tip control, reducing their adaptability in complex anatomical environments. This creates a key challenge in achieving real-time, full body, and shape adaptive control of soft magnetic microrobots for medical applications. This work presents a hybrid magnetic actuation platform enabling precise full body and shape control of fully soft continuum magnetic (FSCM) microrobots. Using this system, the FSCM microrobot navigated vascular paths without wall contact, maintaining an average minimum distance of 1.24 mm from vessel walls. A haptic guidewire interface provides surgeons with real-time tactile feedback, achieving 100% accurate navigation of the magnetic guidewire. A robotically tuneable magnetic end effector allows switching the permanent magnet’s field ON and OFF, improving control while preserving its advantages. A 3D visual analysis and data collection platform is used to study microrobot behaviour and shape formation in realistic vascular models. The simulation platform achieved 85% accuracy in predicting microrobot motion and deformation, confirming the system’s ability for shape control, motion planning, and safe vascular navigation. Overall, this thesis establishes a data-driven approach for full-shape control of soft magnetic microrobots toward clinical application.