Soft robotics enables the design of soft machines and devices at different scales. The compliance and mechanical properties of soft robots make them especially interesting for medical applications. Depending on the level of interaction with humans, different levels of biocompatibility and biomimicry are required for soft materials used in robots. In this Review, we investigate soft robots for biomedical applications, including soft tools for surgery, diagnosis and drug delivery, wearable and assistive devices, prostheses, artificial organs and tissue-mimicking active simulators for training and biomechanical studies. We highlight challenges regarding durability and reliability, and examine traditional and novel soft and active materials as well as different actuation strategies. Finally, we discuss future approaches and applications in the field.

软机器人技术可以设计不同规模的软机和设备。软机器人的柔韧性和机械性能使它们在医疗应用中特别有趣。根据与人类互动的程度，机器人中使用的软材料需要不同程度的生物相容性和仿生性。在这篇综述中，我们研究了用于生物医学应用的软机器人，包括用于手术，诊断和药物输送的软工具，可穿戴和辅助设备，假肢，人造器官和模仿组织的主动模拟器，以进行训练和生物力学研究。我们重点介绍了耐久性和可靠性方面的挑战，并研究了传统的和新颖的柔软和活性材料以及不同的驱动策略。最后，我们讨论了该领域的未来方法和应用。