---
title: ‘Soft Robotics’ Could One Day Steer Drugs Straight to a Tumor
date: 2025-10-22T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/soft-robotics-could-one-day-steer-drugs-straight-to-a-tumor"
section: Articles
---
# ‘Soft Robotics’ Could One Day Steer Drugs Straight to a Tumor

*October 22, 2025* — by [Jennifer S. Holland M.S. ’98](/author/jennifer)


> UMD Research Changes Lives: 3D-Nanoprinted Microcatheters Will Offer Fewer Side Effects, More-Powerful Therapies

*UM Engineering 9 2024 MF 5069 1920x1080 — Soft robotic microcatheters that can maneuver through tiny spaces in the body are created using 3D nanoprinting in the lab of Ryan Sochol, associate professor of mechanical engineering. (Photo by Maximilian Franz)*

When most of us hit “print,” we get a copy of an overdue English paper or a parking pass for the ball game. But when University of Maryland engineers in the [Bioinspired Advanced Manufacturing (BAM) Laboratory](https://bam.umd.edu/) instruct the latest 3D nanoprinter to do its thing, the outcome is a revolutionary, and tiny, piece of “soft robotics” hardware that could vastly improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy and other life-saving medical treatments.

Bioengineering Ph.D. student Bailey Felix and colleagues are 3D printing polymer robotic microcatheters the thickness of a grain of sand that can be actively steered to navigate through blood vessels. Their size, shape and controllability could make them a powerful surgical tool for shuttling medicine to liver tumors—a strategy known as “transarterial” cancer treatment.


*Bailey Felix poses in lab — (Photo by John T. Consoli)*



**Sidebar note:**

**UMD Research Changes Lives**  
At the University of Maryland, scientists and scholars come together to spark new ideas, pursue important discoveries and tackle humanity's grand challenges—improving lives in our communities and across the globe. See more examples of how UMD research changes lives at [today.umd.edu/topic/research-impact](https://today.umd.edu/topic/research-impact).





**Topics:** [Research](https://today.umd.edu/tags/research)


**Tags:** [Research Impact](https://today.umd.edu/topic/research-impact), [Mechanical Engineering](https://today.umd.edu/topic/mechanical-engineering), [Bioengineering](https://today.umd.edu/topic/bioengineering), [Health Care](https://today.umd.edu/topic/health-care), [Robotics](https://today.umd.edu/topic/robotics), [Research](https://today.umd.edu/topic/research)


**Units:** [A. James Clark School of Engineering](https://today.umd.edu/topic/james-clark-school-engineering)