Development of an electrical current stimulator for controlling biohybrid machines

Soft and flexible robotics is an emerging field that attracts a huge interest due to its ability to produce bioinspired devices that are easily adaptable to the environment. Biohybrid Machines (BHM) represent a category of soft robots that integrate biological tissues, such as engineered muscle tissues, as actuating systems. Although these devices present several advantages in some applications, their proper actuation still represents a challenge for researchers. This paper focuses on the development of a portable and programmable electrical stimulator designed to control muscle fiber-based biohybrid actuators. The stimulator, made using off-the-shelf components, was designed as a stacking of three independent printed circuit boards (PCBs), connected vertically in order to result in a final device with compact dimensions of 59 mm × 28 mm × 25 mm. The stimulation circuit is capable of delivering currents up to 18 mA with a voltage compliance of ± 90 V, and a power consumption of approximately 1.3 W. The device’s ability to induce twitch and tetanic contractions in a biohybrid actuator is demonstrated in different stimulation conditions. A practical application was also explored through a test case involving a flexible catheter prototype controlled by a biohybrid actuator, demonstrating its potential utility in a BHMs.