Toward Wireless Implantable Robotic Systems Driven by Magnetic Field for Personalized Therapy

Abstract

Robotic materials are playing an increasingly important role in enabling sensing and actuation at small scales. Recent advances have shown that these materials can dynamically respond to environmental cues while supporting remote sensing for versatile applications particularly healthcare. Among them, magnetically responsive materials such as magneto-elastic and magnetoelectric materials, offer compact, wireless solutions for miniaturized actuators, sensors, and energy transmitters, with significant potential in personalized medicine. However, key challenges remain in integrating magnetic materials toward implantable robotic systems, in achieving miniaturization, biocompatibility, and closed-loop therapy. This perspective highlights recent developments in magnetic materials and magnetically actuated devices for wireless sensing, actuation, and energy harvesting, toward implantable robotic systems for closed-loop therapy. We survey magnetic materials in enabling pumps, valves, and other drug delivery modules and evaluate their performance in terms of actuation field, biocompatibility, and applicable locations. Additionally, we also survey their sensing functions when integrating with other stimuli-responsive materials for different physiological conditions as well as energy harvesting functions for powering. Finally, we discuss future directions in miniaturization, safety, and long-term in vivo stability to facilitate clinical translation. This work provides a forward-looking perspective on next-generation, minimally invasive, robotic implantable systems for personalized disease monitoring and therapeutic intervention.