Overview Research Education Media Contact
Islam S. M. Khalil received his master's and doctoral degrees in Mechatronics Engineering. He is currently an Associate Professor in the RAM—Robotics and Mechatronics research group at the University of Twente. For two years, he was a post-doctoral fellow in the Robotics and Mechatronics research group and MIRA–Institute for Biomedical Technology and Technical Medicine, University of Twente. After serving as the Director of the Medical Micro and Nanorobotics Laboratory at the German University in Cairo, Egypt, he held a position as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomechanical Engineering. His research interests include the modeling and design of motion control systems for soft microrobots, biologically-inspired microrobots, mechatronic system design, and untethered magnetic micro/nanorobotics with applications in micro/nanomanipulation, microassembly, and targeted drug delivery.
Expertise Physics Propulsion Magnetic Fields Speed Frequencies Model Rotation Engineering Organisations Our research focuses on the development of wireless medical microrobots capable of navigating complex anatomical pathways to enable minimally invasive diagnosis and therapy. These tiny, untethered robotic systems are designed to swim through the vascular system and other fluidic environments to reach deep-seated or currently inaccessible regions of the human body. By combining magnetic actuation, AI-driven navigation, and real-time medical imaging, our goal is to offer a new class of medical interventions that are less invasive, more precise, and tailored to individual patients.
reaching precise targets that are currently difficult or impossible to access with catheters or surgical tools.
Publications Jump to: 2025 | 2024 | 2023
Dynamic Modeling of a Magnetic Video Capsule for Enhanced Navigation in the Gastrointestinal Tract (2025) [Contribution to conference › Paper] 47th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBC 2025 . Bester, E. V., Chen, W., Kobus van der Mijle Meijer, J., Ligtenberg, L.-J. W., Mulder , I., Liefers, H. R., Goulas, C., Wasserberg, D., Jonkheijm, P., Warlé, M., Mersha, A. Y., Braat, H. & Khalil, I. S. M. https://doi.org/10.1109/EMBC58623.2025.11253554 Author Correction: Ex vivo validation of magnetically actuated intravascular untethered robots in a clinical setting: Ex vivo validation of magnetically actuated intravascular untethered robots in a clinical setting (Communications Engineering, (2024), 3, 1, (68), 10.1038/s44172-024-00215-2) (2025) Communications Engineering, 4 . Article 16. Ligtenberg, L.-J. W., Rabou, N. C. A., Goulas, C., Duinmeijer, W. C., Halfwerk, F. R., Arens, J., Lomme, R., Magdanz, V., Klingner, A., Rot, E. A. M. K., Nijland, C. H. E., Wasserberg, D., Liefers, H. R., Jonkheijm, P., Susarrey-Arce, A., Warlé, M. & Khalil, I. S. M. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44172-025-00353-1 Design and control of a permanent magnet-based robotic system for navigating tetherless magnetic devices in viscous environments (2025) Scientific reports, 15 (1). Article 31041. Zhang, Z., Klingner, A., Misra, S. & Khalil, I. S. M. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-15247-7 Swimming dynamics of screw-shaped untethered magnetic robots in confined spaces (2025) Nonlinear Dynamics, 113 (21), 29197-29213. De Jongh, L., Klingner, A., Ligtenberg, L.-J. W., De Boer, M. C. J., van der Jooij, J., Lomme, R. M., Wasserberg, D., Liefers, H. R., Jonkheijm, P., Warlé, M. C. & Khalil, I. S. M. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11071-025-11646-7 Non-Buoyant Microrobots Swimming with Near-Zero Angle of Attack (2025) In 2025 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2025) (pp. 16267-16272). IEEE. Ligtenberg, L.-J. W., De Jongh, L., van der Kooij, J., Paul, A., Li, C., Goulas, C., Mohanty, S. & Khalil, I. S. M. https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS60139.2025.11246126 Locomotion of paired spermatozoa during flagellar synchronisation (2025) Journal of fluid mechanics, 1007 . Article A43. Zhang, K., Lewis, A., Klingner, A., Magdanz, V., Misra, S. & Khalil, I. S. M. https://doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2025.79 Wireless mechanical and hybrid thrombus fragmentation of ex vivo endovascular thrombosis model in the iliac artery (2025) Applied physics reviews, 12 (1). Article 011416. de Boer, M. C. J., Ligtenberg, L.-J. W., Mulder, I., Goulas, C., Klingner, A., Lomme, R., Rot, E. A. M. K., Wasserberg, D., Lu, Y., Liefers, R., van der Mijle Meijer, J. K., Tuijthof, G. J. M., Ben Ami, D., Sadeh, U., Shoseyov, O., Leclerc, J., Becker, A. T., Jonkheijm, P., Warlé, M. & Khalil, I. S. M. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0233677 X-Ray-Guided Magnetic Fields for Wireless Control of Untethered Magnetic Robots in Cerebral Vascular Phantoms (2024) In 2024 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, IROS 2024 (pp. 4624-4629) (IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems). IEEE. Ligtenberg, L. J. W., De Boer, M. C. J., Mulder, I., Lomme, R., Wasserberg, D., Klein Rot, E. A. M., Ben Ami, D., Sadeh, U., Liefers, H. R., Shoseyov, O., Jonkheijm, P., Warlé, M. & Khalil, I. S. M. https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS58592.2024.10802534 Haptics in Micro- and Nano-Manipulation (2024) [Working paper › Preprint]. ArXiv.org. Tabak, A. F. & Khalil, I. S. M. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2412.06917 Ex vivo validation of magnetically actuated intravascular untethered robots in a clinical setting (2024) Communications Engineering, 3 . Article 68. Ligtenberg, L.-J. W., Rabou, N. C. A., Goulas, C., Duinmeijer, W., Halfwerk, F. R., Arens, J., Lomme, R., Magdanz, V., Klingner, A., Klein Rot, E. A. M., Nijland, C. H. E., Wasserberg, D., Liefers, H. R., Jonkheijm, P., Susarrey-Arce, A., Warlé, M. & Khalil, I. S. M. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44172-024-00215-2 Exploring sperm cell motion dynamics: Insights from genetic algorithm-based analysis (2024) Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal, 23 , 2837-2850. Klingner, A., Kovalenko, A., Magdanz, V. & Khalil, I. S. M. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csbj.2024.06.008 Magnetic control of soft microrobots near step-out frequency: Characterization and analysis (2024) Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal, 25 , 165-176. Wang, Z., Li, W., Klingner, A., Pei, Y., Misra, S. & S.M. Khalil, I. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csbj.2024.08.022 Controlled Locomotion of IRONSperm Clusters: Evaluating Maneuverability with X-Ray-Guided Magnetic Fields (2024) In 2024 10th IEEE/RAS-EMBS International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics (BioRob) (pp. 883-888). IEEE. van der Mijle Meijer, J. K., Mulder , I., Ligtenberg, L.-J. W., Liefers, H. R., Magdanz, V. & S.M. Khalil, I. https://doi.org/10.1109/BioRob60516.2024.10719702 Exploring PEMFCs for Powering Untethered Small-Scale Robots (2024) In 2024 10th IEEE RAS/EMBS International Conference for Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics (BioRob) (pp. 753-760) (Proceedings IEEE RAS/EMBS International Conference for Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics (BioRob); Vol. 2024). IEEE. Lakshmi Manikandan, A., Gurboga, B., Münzenrieder, N., Raman, A., Gardeniers, H. J. G. E., Susarrey-Arce, A., Abelmann, L. & S.M. Khalil, I. https://doi.org/10.1109/BioRob60516.2024.10719906 X-Ray-Guided Robotic Platform for Remote Control of Untethered Magnetic Robots Targeting Blood Clots in the Iliac Artery (2024) In 2024 10th IEEE/RAS-EMBS International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics (BioRob) (pp. 526-531) (Proceedings IEEE RAS/EMBS International Conference for Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics (BioRob); Vol. 2024). IEEE. Ligtenberg, L.-J. W., de Jongh, L., Liefers, H. R., Wasserberg, D., Klein Rot, E. A. M., Ben Ami, D., Sadeh, U., Lomme, R. M., Tuijthof, G. G. M., Shoseyov, O., Jonkheijm, P., Warlé, M. & S.M. Khalil, I. https://doi.org/10.1109/BioRob60516.2024.10719845 Magnetic alginate microrobots with dual-motion patterns through centrifugally driven flow control (2024) Materials & Design, 246 . Article 113337. Wang, Z., Li, W., Li, C., Klingner, A., Pei, Y., Misra, S. & Khalil, I. S. M. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2024.113337 Advancements in navigation of untethered small-scale helical devices (2024) [Thesis › PhD Thesis - Research external, graduation external]. University of Groningen. Li, C. https://doi.org/10.33612/diss.918484711 Soft Bio-Microrobots: Toward Biomedical Applications (2024) Advanced Intelligent Systems, 6 (2). Article 2300093. Wang, Z., Klingner, A., Magdanz, V., Misra, S. & S.M. Khalil, I. https://doi.org/10.1002/aisy.202300093 Magnetic polycaprolactone microspheres: drug encapsulation and control (2024) International Journal of Polymeric Materials and Polymeric Biomaterials, 73 (2), 143-153. El Gohary, N. A., Mahmoud, A., Ashraf Nazmy, M., Zaabalawi, R., El Zahar, L., Khalil, I. S. M. & Mitwally, M. E.https://doi.org/10.1080/00914037.2022.2132248 Control of Tetherless Magnetic Helical Devices Using A Synchronized Rotating Magnetic Actuation System. (2024) [Thesis › PhD Thesis - Research external, graduation external]. University of Groningen. Zhang, Z. https://doi.org/10.33612/diss.1079359598 Machine Learning Based Tool for Automated Sperm Cell Tracking and Sperm Bundle Detection (2024) In Machine Learning and Knowledge Discovery in Databases. Applied Data Science Track: European Conference, ECML PKDD 2024, Vilnius, Lithuania, September 9–13, 2024, Proceedings, Part X (pp. 19-32) (Lecture Notes in Computer Science; Vol. 14950). Springer. Horenin, J., Magdanz, V., Khalil, I. S. M. , Klingner, A., Kovalenko, A. & Čepek, M. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-70381-2_2 Remote Control of Untethered Magnetic Robots within a Lumen using X-Ray-Guided Robotic Platform (2024) In 2024 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, ICRA 2024 (pp. 17763-17769) (Proceedings - IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation; Vol. 2024). IEEE. Ligtenberg, L. J. W., Rabou, N. C. A., Peters, S., Vengetela, T., Schut, V., Liefers, H. R., Warlé, M. & Khalil, I. S. M. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICRA57147.2024.10611161 Helical Propulsion in Low-Re Numbers with Near-Zero Angle of Attack (2023) In 2023 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) (pp. 2647-2652). IEEE. Ligtenberg, L.-J. W., Ekkelkamp, I. A. A., Halfwerk, F. R., Goulas, C., Arens, J., Warlé, M. & Khalil, I. S. M. https://doi.org/10.1109/iros55552.2023.10341627 Influence of Nanoparticle Coating on the Differential Magnetometry and Wireless Actuation of Biohybrid Microrobots (2023) In 2023 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) (pp. 2653-2658) (Proceedings IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS); Vol. 2023). IEEE. Magdanz, V., Cumming, J. R., Salamzadeh, S., Tesselaar, S., Alic, L., Abelmann, L. & S.M. Khalil, I. https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS55552.2023.10341258 Navigation of Untethered Small-Scale Helical Devices Using Magnetic System under Ultrasound Guidance (2023) IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics, 5 (4), 1093-1104. Li, C., Misra, S. & Khalil, I. S. M. https://doi.org/10.1109/TMRB.2023.3318642 Research profiles Courses academic year 2025/2026 Courses in the current academic year are added at the moment they are finalised in the Osiris system. Therefore it is possible that the list is not yet complete for the whole academic year.
Courses academic year 2024/2025 
We work closely with vascular surgeons, oncologists, and gastroenterologists, ensuring a strong and dynamic match between engineering innovation and clinical needs. This close collaboration allows us to design robotic systems that directly address real-world medical challenges — from targeted cancer therapy and localized drug delivery to clot retrieval in complex vascular networks.
We envision a future in which surgery is guided by swarms of intelligent microrobots that can be controlled wirelessly from outside the body. These microrobots will navigate autonomously through patient-specific vascular maps, reaching precise targets that are currently difficult or impossible to access with catheters or surgical tools.
By integrating digital twin models, AI-based control algorithms, and advanced imaging technologies, we aim to give clinicians a new level of control and accuracy — enabling interventions that are faster, safer, and less traumatic for patients. In this vision, the operating room of the future is hybrid: combining the expertise of physicians and the precision of autonomous microrobotic systems.
Scan the QR code or