IEEE ICMA 2018 Conference

Plenary Talk III

Cell surgery Robotics

Dong Sun, Professor
Chair Professor and Head
Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering
Director of Center for Robotics and Automation
City University of Hong Kong
E-mail: medsun@cityu.edu.hk
http://www.cityu.edu.hk/mbe/medsun/

Abstract:

There exists an increasing demand for developing new technologies that can have earlier diagnosis and treatment of diseases at cell level, thereby achieving long term patient survival. Cell surgery robotics is an entirely new emerging theme that is enabled with specially designed automated micromanipulation tools to perform surgical diagnosis and treatment with image feedback, and can be processed on large-scale single cells. This talk will introduce our recent development of using robotics combined with micro-engineering tools including optical tweezers, micro-needles and electromagnetic devices, as special end-effectors to accomplish various tasks of cell manipulation, diagnosis and micro-surgery at the single cell level. With this emerging technology, we have achieved numerous cell surgery operations such as single cell transportation and rotation, single cell biopsy and microinjection, and target delivery of cells using magnetic actuation. The new technologies for automated cell surgery will permit many new unforeseen applications previously thought impossible, and profoundly affect surgical treatment and precision medicine.

Prof. Dong Sun is currently a chair professor and head of the Department of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, where his current research focuses on bio/medical robotics for biological cell manipulation and cell surgery. He studied in Tsinghua University of Beijing and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and then joined the University of Toronto, Canada for post-doc research. After short-time working experience in Canadian industry, he returned to Hong Kong in 2000 and became an Assistant Professor in the City University of Hong Kong.
Dr. Sun is among the leading contributors worldwide in pioneering work in robotic manipulation of biological cells, which has recently become an emerging area of robotics for biomedical applications and offered fundamental advances in precision medicine. His research has breakthrough in the use of combined robotics and various micro-engineering tools including optical tweezers, micro-needles and electromagnetic devices to achieve cell manipulation, diagnosis and micro-surgery at the single cell level. With his emerging technology, a new robotics theme “cell surgery robotics” has been recently formed, which will permit many new unforeseen applications previously thought impossible.
Dr. Sun received numerous awards, including best paper awards from the international journal and conferences as well as industrial awards such as Hong Kong Awards for Industry. His patented research of intelligent sensor has been used in the E-Channel auto-pass systems of customs in Hong Kong. He serves on the editorial boards of several academic journals, and organizes several international flagship conferences including the world largest intelligent robot conference (IROS). He is a member of the Biomedical Division, Science and Technology Committee of Education Ministry of China, and a member of Research Grant Council of Hong Kong. He is a fellow of the IEEE and a fellow of the Hong Kong Institute of Engineers.