I would like to thank my advisor Prof. Domenico Prattichizzo for guiding and supporting me over the years. You have been a tremendous mentor and have set an example of excellence as instructor and role model. Prof, thank you so much for encouraging my research and for allowing me to grow as a research scientist. Your advice on both research as well as on my career have been priceless.. I would like to thank my thesis committee members for all of their guidance through the process, discussion, ideas and feedback have been absolutely invaluable.A special thanks to my family for the love, support and constant encouragement I have gotten over the years. In particular, I am very grateful to my parents and my brothers. I undoubtedly could not have done this without you.I wish to thank my fellow lab mates for helping me during these years of hard work. It was a great experience to share the lab space with such brilliant minds, who were always willing to support my endeavors and extend a helping hand in my research. iv 8 A magnetic compatible supernumerary robotic finger for functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) acquisitions: device description and preliminary results.