Wireless small-scale medical robots have the unique capability of navigating, operating and staying inside hard-to-reach, tight, risky and deep sites inside our body. This talk reports our recent milli- and microscale wireless miniature medical robots down to cell size that could achieve various minimally invasive medical functions, such as targeted active drug delivery, neural stimulation, clot opening, liquid biopsy, biofluid pumping, cauterization, and hyperthermia. Due to miniaturization limitations on on-board actuation, powering, sensing, computing and communication, new materials and methods need to be introduced in creating and controlling such robots. Moreover, they need to be tracked under medical imaging modalities, such as ultrasound, fluoroscopy, photoacoustic imaging, and MRI, for their precise and safe operation. 3D microprinting and assembly-based fabrication methods and biocompatible and multifunctional soft composites with embedded micro/nanomaterials are proposed to create novel medical milli/microrobots. Soft-bodied medical miniature robot designs enable active shape programming-based adaptive, multimodal and multifunctional navigation and functions, and safe operation. External physical forces, such as magnetic fields, acoustic waves and light, and physical or chemical (e.g., catalytic) interactions with the operation medium are used to actuate and steer such miniature robots wirelessly as a single robot or robot collectives. These robots are aimed to save lives of more patients by curing diseases not possible or hard to cure and decrease the side effects and invasiveness of disease treatments drastically.
无线小型医疗机器人拥有独特的导航、操作能力，并能驻留在人体内难以触及、狭窄、危险和深处的部位。本次报告将介绍我们近期研发的毫米级至微米级（小至细胞尺寸）无线微型医疗机器人，它们能够实现多种微创医疗功能，例如靶向主动给药、神经刺激、血栓清除、液体活检、生物流体泵送、烧灼和高温治疗。
由于在机载驱动、供能、传感、计算和通信方面存在微型化限制，需要引入新材料和新方法来创建和控制此类机器人。此外，为了确保其操作的精确性和安全性，需要在超声、荧光透视、光声成像和磁共振成像（MRI）等医学成像模态下对它们进行跟踪定位。
我们提出采用三维微打印和基于组装的制造方法，以及嵌入微/纳米材料的生物相容性多功能软复合材料，来制造新型医疗毫米/微米机器人。软体医疗微型机器人设计能够实现基于主动形状编程的自适应、多模式和多功能的导航与操作，并确保安全运行。
利用外部物理力（如磁场、声波和光）以及与操作介质发生的物理或化学（例如催化）相互作用，可以无线驱动和引导此类微型机器人，无论是单个机器人还是机器人集群。这些机器人旨在通过治疗目前无法或难以治愈的疾病来挽救更多患者的生命，并大幅降低疾病治疗的副作用和侵入性。
嘉宾介绍
Metin Sitti
美国国家工程院院士，欧洲科学院院士，土耳其科学院院士，土耳其科奇大学校长他于 1992 年和 1994 年分别在土耳其博阿齐奇大学（Boğaziçi University）获得学士和硕士学位，并于 1999 年在日本东京大学（University of Tokyo）获得博士学位。他的研究兴趣包括无线医疗设备、小型移动机器人、生物启发和物理智能。
他是美国国家工程院（National Academy of Engineering）、欧洲科学院（Academia Europaea）成员，并曾为马克斯·普朗克学会（Max Planck Society）会员（2014-2023 年）。他获得的奖项与荣誉包括：高被引科学家（2021-2024）、科学前沿奖（2025）、材料科学领军人物奖（2023-2025）、世界科学峰会“破壁”年度突破奖（2020）、欧洲研究理事会高级资助（ERC Advanced Grant）（2019）、拉赫米·科克科学奖章（2018）、国际光学工程学会纳米工程先锋奖（2011）和美国国家科学基金会杰出青年教授奖（NSF CAREER Award）（2005）。
Prof. Dr. Metin Sitti is the President and Professor of Koç University in Istanbul, Turkey since fall 2023. Formerly, he was a Director of the Physical Intelligence Department at Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Germany (2014-2023), Professor at ETH Zurich, Switzerland (2020-2024), Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, USA (2002-2014), and Research Scientist at UC Berkeley, USA (1999-2002). He received his BSc (1992) and MSc (1994) degrees from Boğaziçi University, Turkey, and PhD degree from University of Tokyo, Japan (1999). His research interests include wireless medical devices, small-scale mobile robots, bioinspiration, and physical intelligence. He is a member of National Academy of Engineering in USA, Academy Europea, and Max Planck Society (2014-2023). He received the Highly Cited Researcher recognition (2021-2024), Frontiers of Science Award (2025), Materials Science Leader Award (2023-2025), Breakthrough of the Year Award in the Falling Walls World Science Summit (2020), ERC Advanced Grant (2019), Rahmi Koç Science Medal (2018), SPIE Nanoengineering Pioneer Award (2011), and NSF CAREER Award (2005).