My research focuses on "Engineering Better Health" and developing advanced Soft Fluidic Actuators (SFAs) for medical applications, particularly endoscopy. Endoscopy demand has surged in the UK, doubling over the past five years. Hospitals are increasingly overwhelmed, struggling to meet patient needs with outdated technology that has remained fundamentally unchanged for six decades. The risk of complications, such as colon perforation caused by excessive force, further exacerbates the problem. 

SFA represent a promising technological advancement to address these challenges. Our group's previous work on MorphGI, a self-propelling SFA for colonoscopy, demonstrated potential for reducing applied forces during procedures. However, realizing MorphGI's full potential requires improvements in miniaturization, force sensing accuracy, and controllability.

The main contributions of my PhD are developing a novel force sensing algorithm that utilizes the SFA's fluidic medium; introducing a Pneudraulic Actuation (PHA) method to improve SFA control and response time; and designing and fabricating smaller SFA segments suitable for more endoscopy procedures like Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio Pancreatography (ERCP). 

By addressing these areas, I aim to contribute to the development of safer, more efficient, and less invasive endoscopic procedures.