Emerging wireless applications in biomedicine

In recent years, we have become fascinated by the idea of tiny surgical robots that can be introduced into a blood vessel, travel through the patient´s body, exchange information with an external controller for detailed diagnosis, and perform local interventions. They might even be permanently resident in the body for continuous monitoring. Such robots exist only in the realm of science fiction today. Their realization faces major obstacles, including power sources, and the control and monitoring of these untethered robots. In this talk, we will address these obstacles through fundamental understanding of wireless power transfer and communication schemes, as well as devising new sensing and propulsion functionalities to these robots.