Renée Zhao (Stanford Univ.)

Mechanics-Driven Innovations for Functional Morphing Systems and Medical Applications

Renee Zhao, Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University

Millimeter-scale origami robots hold great promise for biomedical applications due to their remarkable shape-morphing capabilities. In this talk, I will present our recent advancements in millimeter-sized origami robots designed for medical applications. These robots leverage their thin-shell structures to enable a range of functionalities: 1) Providing internal cavities for drug storage; 2) Utilizing torsion-induced contraction as a pumping mechanism for controlled liquid medicine dispensing; 3) Acting as propellers that spin for propulsion to swim, exemplified by a device we call the milli-spinner.

As an example, I will highlight our recent development of the magnetic milli-spinner as a mechanical thrombectomy technology for treating acute ischemic stroke and brain aneurysms. The milli-spinner can easily navigate in complex and highly torturous vasculature, mechanically debulk and extract blood clots by significantly densifying the fibrin network, achieving a clot volume reduction to less than 10% of its initial size. This new clot debulking mechanism has demonstrated exceptional efficacy in both in vitro and in vivo pig studies.

In the second part of my talk, I will briefly explore how structural instability can be harnessed to create new functional origami designs for a variety of engineering applications.

Biography:

Renee Zhao is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University, where she is also a Terman Faculty Fellow and Gabilan Faculty Fellow. She earned her Ph.D. in Solid Mechanics from Brown University and completed her postdoctoral training at MIT. Renee’s research focuses on the design of stimuli-responsive composites and structural instability-based shape-morphing mechanisms for multifunctional robotic systems. She has received numerous early career awards and honors, including being named a Kavli Fellow by the US National Academy of Sciences and one of MIT Technology Review's 35 Innovators Under 35. Her research has resulted in over twenty patents and patent applications, and innovations from her lab have led to the medical startups aimed at delivering revolutionary technologies to improve disease treatment.