Vine4Spine
Project Overview
Year
About
Vine4Spine is a soft, steerable robot that navigates the spinal subarachnoid space for targeted therapeutic delivery. Inspired by climbing plants, it advances via tip-growing eversion rather than pushing, reducing friction and risk to delicate tissue. Less than 2 mm wide, it integrates real-time force sensing and imaging, and fits through a standard Tuohy needle. This platform enables safe, repeatable access to deep CNS targets for gene therapies, biologics, and other emerging treatments
Team
Brandon Saldarriaga
King's College London
"Brandon Saldarriaga graduated from King’s College London in 2021, after completing M.Eng. Biomedical Engineer degree. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Surgical Robotics at the School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences of King’s College London, United Kingdom. Brandon partook in the MedTech accelerator program at the London Institute of Healthcare Engineering (LIHE) during 2024. His re- search interests include micro-surgical robotics fabrication and system control. In addition he is a member of the Robotics and Vision in Medicine (RViM) Lab."
Zicong Wu
King's College London
Dr. Zicong Wu is a Research Associate in Intelligent Surgical Robotics at the Robotics and Vision in Medicine (RViM) Lab at King's College London. He completed his PhD in Biomedical Engineering at King's College London in 2024, and received his MRes. degree in Medical Robotics and Image-Guided Intervention from Imperial College London in 2019, and his BEng. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Birmingham in 2018. His research focuses on surgical robotics, particularly soft and miniature robotic systems for surgical and interventional applications, including intraductal navigation and spinal interventions.
Shamsa Alharthy
King's College London
Shamsa Al Harthy earned her M.Eng. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Glasgow in 2023. She then joined the Robotics and Vision in Medicine (RViM) Lab at King’s College London as a research assistant (2023-2025) and is now pursuing a PhD in surgical robotics. Her work focuses on MRI-compatible vine robots for spinal and neuro interventions. Her research interests include soft robotics, variable stiffness systems, and the development of next-generation surgical robots.