Herps in the News: Robo Frog Makes Surgical History

       One of the greatest feelings in the world is being able to create something for the greater good of society that is used to help people not harm them.  Well one group of such scientists from the University of Leebs are using tree frogs as the model to create tiny synthetic frogs that are capable of entering a patients body and during small keyhole surgery.  This tiny frog robot is just one of the many new bio-inspired robot ideas that have been recently been becoming a big hit for mechanical engineering students at a variety of universities.  This particular robo-frog was designed with the capabilities of maneuvering across the internal abdominal wall of a patient capturing all the things a mobile camera would see in real time.  With analysis of the tree-frogs feet, a solution to the critical problem of getting the device to attach to moist, slippery tissues when upside down or sideways was solved. The strategically placed pattern of the tree-frogs toes provided the blueprint for developing artificial feet that could stick and release without harming the patient. Professor Anne Neville, Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Emerging Technologies at the University of Leeds, explains that a tree frogs foot posses a unique hexagonal patterned, which is capable of creating capillary bridges when touching a wet surface.  This gives frogs the ability to stick, or become adhesive to the surface in which they are contacted with.  This can be related to the same adhesion forces that occur when one tries to lift a beer glass with condensation on it off of a coaster.  The force of adhesion holds the coaster to the glass.  The robo-frog's feet work by the same principles and hold it to the tissues when upside down.  Professor Neville says the robo-frog needs to be able to effectively converse through the abdominal wall, turn, stop under control, and capture a substantial number of clear images for surgeons to base facts and operational procedures on.  The key to a flawless adhesion technique in the robo-frog feet lies on a scale about a thousandth of millimeter in diameter of the tree frogs hexagonal shaped feet.  The frog-inspired robot has four legs like any traditional frog.  But, each of the feet are capable of holding a staggering 15 cm^2  in contact with wet surface.  The goal is to achieve a robo-frog size of approximately 20 x 20 x 20 mm in size, but has not yet been achieved.  They also would like to achieve a total weight less than 20 grams, which is the current weight of the prototype developed now.  When this robo-frog is completely perfected, a new light will be shed on the surgical processes of keyhole surgeries and could help save countless numbers of sick or injured people.           
  

(Blue-eyed tree frog/ Boophis viridis)




Works Cited



Photo: (Credit: © mgkuijpers / Fotolia)

 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130417224715.htm