2018-A Survey of Force-Assisted Robotic Cell Microinjection Technologies

Cell injection plays an important role in genetics, transgenics, molecular biology, drug discovery, reproductive study, and other biomedical fields. Compared with manual cell microinjection and robotic cell microinjection with sole position feedback, force-assisted robotic cell microinjection can improve the success rate and survival rate of cell injection. In this paper, the state-of-the-art research on microinjection of both adherent cells and suspended cells with microforce sensing techniques is reviewed. The significance of force sensors in the robotic cell injection system is also discussed. Five types of prevalent force sensing methods and their applications in cell microinjection are reviewed. The challenges and promising solutions in automating the cell microinjection process are addressed.