Work

A Bioinspired Underwater Soft Robot for Active Intravesical Liquid Delivery and Mixing

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Long‐term drug delivery in fluid‐filled organs such as the bladder remains a major clinical challenge, as existing approaches including flexible ureteroscopic systems are invasive and unsuitable for sustained at‐home therapy. Here, we present a bioinspired underwater soft robot that integrates jellyfish‐inspired paddling for enhanced fluid mixing with squid‐inspired jet propulsion for controlled liquid release, enabling on‐demand, long‐term intravesical drug administration. The soft‐body pump leverages stored elastic strain energy to achieve sustained liquid release about 1500 μL, while a flexible magnetic valve provides precise flow‐rate regulation under a relatively low external magnetic field (<15 mT). The flexible magnetic paddles incorporate embedded microfluidic channels and are magnetically actuated to generate active flapping, promoting efficient mixing of the released therapeutic agents within the surrounding fluid environment. A portable dual‐magnet actuation system enables fully wireless control of locomotion, pumping, and mixing functions. We validate the controlled release, mixing performance, and refillability in phantom models and ex vivo porcine bladders under ultrasound imaging. This soft robotic system establishes a minimally invasive, wirelessly actuated strategy for programmable, long‐term drug delivery in the bladder, offering a promising solution for sustained management of bladder diseases and home‐based intravesical therapy.

Source: Advanced Intelligent Systems

DOI: 10.1002/aisy.70515