Oksana Tovmachenko

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About

Oksana Tovmachenko is a pioneering researcher in the field of medical robotics, specializing in the design and control of capsule-type robots for minimally invasive gastrointestinal procedures. Her work centers on two transformative challenges: enabling active locomotion and precise tissue sampling within the confined, slippery environment of the digestive tract. In her highly cited 2018 paper (11 citations), she introduced a self-driving, three-legged crawling capsule robot whose orientation is controlled by an external magnetic field, offering a novel solution for navigating the gut without external tethering. Building on this, her 2019 work (6 citations) presents a capsule device capable of soft tissue cutting, featuring a miniature threadless ballscrew actuator and a cone-shaped gripper assembly for reliable biopsy collection. These contributions represent significant strides toward autonomous, diagnostic capsule endoscopy, moving beyond passive imaging to active intervention. Tovmachenko’s innovative integration of magnetic control, biomimetic locomotion, and micro-actuation has laid essential groundwork for next-generation medical capsules, earning her recognition as a rising leader in surgical robotics.