Researchers have developed a soft robotic sleeve controlled with a microfluidic chip that reduces cost, weight, and power consumption for treatment of lymphedema. The prototype is more portable than previous devices, and the underlying mechanisms can extend to other treatments, such as prosthetics. The microfluidic chip has 16 channels, each with a different resistance. The differing resistances create a time delay between the flow through each channel, causing balloons in the sleeve to sequentially inflate and push fluid upwards, out of the arm.
