Silicone made contractile dielectric elastomer actuators inside 3-Tesla MRI environment

—New actuators are greatly demanded today in order to develop magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)compatible mechatronic systems capable of extended and improved capabilities. They are particularly needed for MRIguided interventional or rehabilitation procedures. Actuators based on dielectric elastomers, a specific class of electroactive polymers, appear as suitable candidates for new MRIcompatible technologies, due to their intrinsic material properties and working principle. This paper presents the first investigation on the MRI compatibility of a recently developed linear contractile actuator made of a silicone elastomer. The assessed absence of any degradation of both the actuator electromechanical performance in the MRI environment and the quality of images acquired from a phantom demonstrated the MRI compatibility of the actuator. These results suggest the suitability of this soft actuation technology as a possible new entry in the class of MRI compatible mechatronic systems.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2008
• Where: IROS
• Authors: Federico Carpi, Azadeh Khanicheh, Constantinos Mavroidis, Danilo De Rossi
• Keywords: Actuator, IROS 2008, Mechatronic Systems, MRI Compatibility, Robotics