The area of magnetic soft tentacle robots has received significant recent attention, driven by the aim of realising miniaturised, minimally invasive catheters for aortic navigation. This has resulted in a new generation of bio-inspired soft magnetic tentacle robots which couple inherently soft materials with microscale magnetic particles to achieve unprecedented patient-tailored navigation in the body. The aortic arch is a high-angle bend in the aorta which serves as a key pathway for numerous catheter-based cardiovascular treatments, such as clot removal in the carotid arteries. Treatments are commonly delivered by the manual insertion and operation of a thin, flexible guidewire. 

Although, these devices hold several significant risks throughout navigation, including mental strain on the operating surgeon and a significant risk of blood vessel damage. Overall, the talk demonstrates that soft magnetic tentacle robots hold exceptional potential as an accessible, low-cost and less invasive alternative to current cardiovascular catheter treatments.