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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2022 Apr 25.
Published in final edited form as: Nat Rev Mater. 2021 Nov 10;7:235–249. doi: 10.1038/s41578-021-00389-7

Fig. 4. Soft actuators in biomedical applications.

Fig. 4

a | A functionalized catheter can be wirelessly navigated in blood vessels. b | Balloon catheters integrated with conformal electronics can provide real-time sensing during surgeries. c | Small biopsy devices can locomote in hard-to-access body sites and take biopsy samples. The biopsy device is capsulated in ice for smoother oral ingestion. d | Assisting soft actuators can have safe contact with soft tissues and provide therapeutic functions. e | Targeted drug delivery can be realized using biohybrid soft actuators. f | Artificial soft actuators can avoid the detection by macrophages. anti-TER-119, Ter-119 antibody; DOX, doxorubicin; E. coli MG1655, Escherichia coli strain MG1655; PEG, polyethylene glycol; RBC, red blood cell; SPIONs, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles; ZW, zwitterionic polymer. Panel a adapted from REF.170, CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Panel b adapted from REF.219, Springer Nature Limited. Panel c adapted with permission from REF.173, copyright 2020, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. Panel d adapted with permission from REF.175, AAAS. Panel e adapted with permission from REF.114, AAAS. Panel f reprinted from REF.176, CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).