Browse Technologies

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Vanderbilt researchers have developed a framework for compliant insertion with hybrid motion and force control of continuum robots. This technology expands the capabilities of robotic surgery by providing continuum robots with the ability to autonomously discern, locate, and react to contact along their length and calculate forces at the tip, thus enabling quick and safe deployment of snake-like robots into deep anatomical passages or unknown environments.

This technology expands the capabilities of continuum robots with a system and method that enables them to detect instances of contact and to estimate the position of the contact. This framework allows the motion of the robot to be constrained so as to ensure the robot doesn't damage itself, another robot arm, or surrounding environments. Applications for this technology include enhanced safe telemanipulation for multi-arm continuum robots in surgery, micro-assembly in confined spaces, and exploration in unknown environments.

Researchers at Vanderbilt University designed an instrument capable of higher accuracy and analyzing lick microstructure compared to current available models. This device is compatible with classic ventilated home cages, making it easy to build and use with an intuitive touchscreen graphical user interface. The system tracks two-bottle choice licking behavior in up to 18 rodent cages, or 36 single bottles, on a minute-to-minute timescale controlled by a single Arduino microcontroller. Ultimately, the system measures drinking preference over time and changes in bout microstructure, with undisturbed recordings lasting up to 7 days.

Researchers at Vanderbilt University have developed a technique to enhance immune cell activation by exposing cells to mechanical force while culturing. Proof-of-concept data indicate that activating immune cells with this method may improve therapeutic efficacy and reduce manufacturing expenses, making powerful CAR T cell therapies more accessible to patients in need.