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| Photo courtesy of National Geographic Environmental Images: Aquatic Species Gallery |
What is so beneficial about modeling the device after tree frogs' feet is because the robot will need to cling upside down to a slippery, wet abdominal wall while being able to release and not cause any damage to the patient. The lead researcher from the University of Leeds, Professor Anne Neville, explains the strong adhesive force behind the frogs' feet due to their hexagonal patterned channels that are capable of building capillary bridges on wet surfaces. The hexagonal shape creates a larger number of adhesion points than say something shape like a square with 4 points. The adhesive qualities in addition to easy removal means this robot will be able to move or "crawl" around inside the patient. The prototype with have 4 feet modeled after the frog and will need to be able to 15 g per foot. Current work is on making a prototype that will be able to fit through the small incision from a keyhole surgery. Otherwise, this thing needs to be very small.
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| Photo courtesy of y8biologygroup12 |
What is so appealing about this study is that there is medical application from learning about a popular amphibian. It's easy for many people who don't understand the purpose behind studying something like frog feet to write it off as a waste of time without realizing the larger implications it could carry. While I think the article appeals more to the medical viewpoint, anyone interested in herpetology would enjoy learning something like how we are continuing to benefit by further research in this area.
View Article Here: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130417224715.htm
1 comment:
Great example of applied research! I wonder why frog feet are a better model for this task than gecko feet?
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