Bioinspired Soft Hysteroscopic Robot for Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment of Uterine Cavity Diseases

Hysteroscopy is currently the gold standard for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of uterine cavity diseases. However, the variable-size channel, confined space, open contaminated environment, and fragile tissue of the uterine cavity pose several challenges for traditional rigid and semi-rigid hysteroscopes in clinical practice, including high infection risk, significant pain, tissue injury, and difficult manipulation. Inspired by natural biological strategies, this study developed a novel soft hysteroscopic robot to address these challenges. First, mimicking the microstructural liquid-locking principle of the super-slippery peristome of the Nepenthes pitcher plant, a super-slippery antibacterial surface modification strategy based on the synergistic effects of plasma-induced grafting and structural locking was proposed, and a disposable flexible film sheath with enhanced anti-biofouling performance was fabricated, significantly reducing infection risk. Second, mimicking the vine’s tip growth, diameter self-adaptation, and contact-free frictionless spreading manner, a multi-stage variable-size flexible film body configuration was designed, and a pneumatic eversion growth locomotion mode was proposed, thereby achieving pain-minimized and trauma-free intervention. On this basis, a coarse-to-fine integrated control strategy combining reinforcement learning-based path planning and tip visual tracking was constructed, and an artificial intelligence recognition system for uterine cavity lesions was established, improving the efficiency and intelligent level of diagnosis and treatment of uterine cavity diseases. Finally, a prototype of the soft hysteroscopic robot was developed, and its operational performance was successfully validated through ex vivo biological tissue experiments. In conclusion, this robot provides an innovative technical pathway for safe, minimally invasive, and intelligent diagnosis and treatment of uterine cavity diseases.

Dr. Longqiu Li is a full professor at Harbin Institute of Technology, and a recipient of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars. He is the Executive Editor of SmarBot. He is also the associate Editor of Research (AAAS/Science Partner Journal), and Journal of Tribology, Trans ASME. He currently serves as Director of the Journal Center of the university and Deputy Director of the State Key Laboratory of Robotics and Systems (HIT). His interests are in the areas of soft robotics, micro/nano robots, 3D printing, surface engineering and tribology in micro/nano scale, micro/nano sensors for MEMS/NEMS, biomedical and aerospace applications. He is the author of more than 120 technical publications and holds over 100 Chinese invention patents. He is a member of the ASME, IEEE, STLE and SPIE. He is also a technical committee member of MNS in ASME.