CHE 598 Seminar: Untethered Miniaturized Soft Robots For Healthcare Science
About the event
SPEAKER: Dr. ChangKyu Yoon, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sookmyung Women’s University
BIOGRAPHY:
Dr. ChangKyu Yoon is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Sookmyung Women’s University in Seoul,
South Korea. He earned his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Johns Hopkins University and completed postdoctoral
research at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems. He also holds M.S. and B.S. degrees in Materials Science and Engineering
from Washington State University. ChangKyu’s research focuses on developing innovative solutions to address current challenges in
soft robotic engineering, particularly in materials, structures, and devices for applications in sensing, energy, and healthcare. His work
explores the behaviors of coupled material systems through nano-, micro-, and macro-scale fabrication; 3D/4D printing; advanced
structural, material, and mechanical characterizations; and in vitro/in vivo testing. His laboratory has been at the forefront of creating
intelligent, multi-scale systems for healthcare applications. Over the course of his career, ChangKyu has co-authored approximately 40
papers and patents.
ABSTRACT:
The manufactured modern medicine requires the development of miniaturized devices that can access hard-to-reach areas in the human
body to complete therapeutic drug delivery or surgical procedures in less invasive and more effective manners. In this talk, I will discuss the
challenges associated with operation of untethered small scale mobile soft robots for surgery and drug delivery with an important result in the
development of miniaturized and mechanized tools that were used to biopsy tissue and delivery drugs. Stimuli-responsive and chemo mechanical
actuation schemes provide attractive means to enable off-chip actuation at small scales to overcome the challenges associated with harnessing
power and especially, in- vivo. Furthermore, stimuli responsive mobile soft robots can achieve mechanized functions at small scales without the
need for any wires, tethers, or external power sources. I will describe mainly utilized actuation scheme that are compatible with clinical medicine.
Importantly, the source of energy and actuation based on different swelling of polymers was utilized to perform in-vitro tissue biopsy using sub-mm sized
untethered soft devices, single cell isolating, and biodegradable soft grippers. In addition to external global stimuli such as temperature, light, or pH,
I will demonstrate highly sensitive and selective shape changes in hydrogels triggered by specific DNA molecules through successive crosslink extension,
by plasmonic effects activated via ultrasound, and by programmable shape transformations induced through selective LEDs. When the photopatterned
multi-layer planar soft machines are presented with the complementary strands, the machines can change shape in complicated and programmable ways,
including stepwise or sequential shape changes. Finally, I will discuss the design, fabrication, control, and applications of untethered mobile soft
robots using remote magnetic fields in enclosed spaces.
In summary, our results provide proof-of-concept that mobile micro-sized stimuli responsive soft robots could be utilized to provide mechanized functions
and operate within narrow conduits in the body. Such miniaturized untethered stimuli responsive soft robots could provide desired functions and properties
to achieve specified intelligent characteristics of advanced engineering systems for healthcare science.