Description

Soft robotic systems are emerging as a transformative technology for minimally invasive and endoluminal intervention (MIE). Their compliance, adaptability, and ability to interact gently with biological tissue enable navigation, sensing, and manipulation within the human body in ways that rigid robotic systems cannot. While reaching difficult anatomical regions is essential, the ability to sense and interpret tissue properties is equally important for guiding surgical decision-making and improving patient outcomes. However, translating promising laboratory prototypes into clinically adopted tools remains a major challenge. This full-day workshop focuses on the development, integration, and clinical translation of soft robotic systems across the two core functions that define interventional utility: therapy and diagnostics.

Therapy: Soft continuum robots are opening new possibilities for accessing anatomically complex regions. Eversion robots, also known as vine robots, advance from their tip without friction along their body, enabling navigation through tortuous lumens such as the colon, bronchi, and urinary tract, with strong potential for endoluminal procedures where rigid tools struggle. Magnetically actuated soft robots represent another rapidly advancing direction, using external magnetic fields to steer through complex anatomical pathways while enabling shape control and force regulation without on-board actuation. Modular and reconfigurable soft architectures further expand the surgical toolkit by allowing robots to adapt their morphology to tasks such as tissue manipulation or targeted drug delivery.

Diagnostics: Soft robotic systems are enabling new approaches for intraoperative tissue characterisation. Tactile sensors and robotic palpation can detect mechanical anomalies such as tumours or fibrotic tissue that may remain undetected by conventional imaging, providing localised information during MIE procedures. Integrating sensing within compliant structures introduces engineering challenges, including nonlinear signal coupling and interactions between actuation and sensing, often requiring advanced data processing and artificial intelligence.

Programme

Posted in May 2026

Learning Outcomes

This full day workshop brings together researchers, clinicians, and industry partners to examine the translational challenges of soft robotic technologies, with case studies from the European projects PALPABLE and EndoTheranostics, alongside invited talks, panel discussions, and a poster competition for early-career researchers.

By the end of the workshop, participants will:

1. Understand emerging soft robotic technologies for minimally invasive and endoluminal interventions.
2. Gain insight into navigation strategies for accessing difficult anatomical regions.
3. Learn about sensing technologies for tissue characterisation, such as robotic palpation.
4. Appreciate the challenges of integrating sensing and actuation in soft robotic systems.
5. Understand translational challenges including clinical validation and industrial deployment.
6. Identify future research directions in robotic diagnostics and therapy.

Through technical talks, industry perspectives, and interactive discussions, participants will leave better equipped to advance soft robotic systems from research concept to clinical reality.

Sponsor This Workshop – Soft Robotic Systems for Diagnostics and Therapy in Minimally Invasive and Endoluminal Interventions

Suggested Price: £500.00

Sponsor This Workshop for £500

As an official Workshop Sponsor, sponsors will receive:

• Prominent logo placement on the workshop webpage
• Acknowledgement in workshop-related social media posts (LinkedIn, X, and Instagram)/and cross-posting from organiser accounts
• Recognition on prize certificates presented to participants

Sponsorship contributions will support essential workshop operational costs, including speaker travel and accommodation, poster prizes, and participant registration fees.

 

Please note that workshop sponsorship is separate from the symposium sponsorship packages and does not include exhibition or live demonstration opportunities.

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