Sochol-led Team to Develop 3D-Nanoprinted Neurosurgical Tools

Fischell Institute faculty member Ryan Sochol (ME) and his team of collaborators were awarded a four-year, $2.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) to develop new classes of microcatheters for neurosurgery.

The project builds on recent advancements achieved at the Bioinspired Advanced Manufacturing (BAM) Lab, in which Sochol and his team 3D-printed entire soft robots with fully integrated fluidic circuits, including a soft robotic hand that was able to play Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros.

“We’re taking the concepts behind that soft robotic hand and shrinking them down to the size of a microcatheter using our 3D nanoprinting strategy,” said Sochol. “But instead of playing Nintendo, our goal is to enable neurointerventionalists to actively steer the catheter during neurosurgical procedures to reach target sites in the brain safer and faster than ever before.”