Manfredi Luigi

Biography

He has collaborated with several industries, specifically on the design and fabrication of mechatronic systems for digital control of robotic platforms. He was involved in the design and implementation of miniaturized digital hardware for digital control of multi-linked and flexible robots and has been involved in several European FP7 Projects. In 2013, he was awarded of the prestigious SAGES Foundation Felicien M Steichen Surgical Innovation Award, at the SAGES Congress in Baltimore, USA, and in 2016 awarded a prize for the CARPE oral presentation in the Emerging Technology session during the SAGES, Congress in Boston, USA. More recently, he was invited as a Keynote speaker in the Scientific session - Innovative devices - at the Annual EAES Congress in Amsterdam in June 2016, and the scientific session of SAGES Congress in Seattle in April 2018. His main research is focused on designs for medical mini robot for screening endoscopy for common cancers of the GI tract and mini robots for surgical operations based on using smart materials for flexible and compliant mechanism (i.e. shape memory alloys, SMAs).

Research Interest

CARPE is a generic modular system (capable of translation into any type of flexible endoscope in current clinical use) consisting of independent segments, mechanics and electronics. The big advance of CARPE, when used to construct a colonoscope over the current version, is that following insertion of the CARPE colonoscope would travel up the colon by its intrinsic snake-like locomotion. The robot is based on a Mini Compliant Joint (MCJ), with two degree of freedom (DoFs) using Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) wires as actuators providing a compliant mechanism in a synergistic combination, which increases the energy efficiency and mechanical bandwidth performance; and at the same time, reduces heat production and stress on the SMA wires. The MJCs actuates by current-induced contraction of SMA wires, two hollow articulating rings with 2 DoFs. As the rings have intersecting axes, the two torsional springs provide roll and pitch. Such a chain of active MCJs provides sinusoidal motor-less locomotion.