It may sound like the plot of ‘Fantastic Voyage’, but miniature robots that can travel through the human body and dispense drugs could soon become a reality.
Researchers at Stanford University have developed a “millirobot” that can roll, spin, spin, and even swim to enter narrow spaces.
The fingertip size machine is inspired by the Japanese art of folding origami paper and can be controlled with magnets, transporting drug treatments directly to a tumor, blood clot, infection or point of pain.
The millirobot could revolutionize medicine, according to researchers, by replacing pills or intravenous injections that can cause unwanted side effects.
In the 1966 sci-fi classic Fantastic Voyage, a submarine and its crew are reduced and injected into a dying patient, where they venture through their veins into their brains and destroy a blockade with laser guns.
Millirobot of origami with propulsion activated to rotate. The finger-sized machine is inspired by the Japanese art of folding origami paper and can be controlled with magnets.
In the 1966 sci-fi classic Fantastic Voyage, a submarine and its crew are reduced and injected into a dying patient, where they venture through their veins into their brains and destroy a blockade with laser guns.
The new millirobot is less than a third of an inch (7.8 mm) wide and is equipped with a magnetic plate.
The new millirobot is less than a third of an inch wide (7.8 mm) wide and is equipped with a magnetic plate.
It is able to travel quickly over uneven, slippery surfaces of an organ and swim through body fluids, propelling itself wirelessly while carrying liquid medications.
Unlike pills that are swallowed or injected with liquids, it retains the drug until it “reaches the target and then releases a high-concentration drug,” according to Stanford University mechanical engineer Renee Zhao.
“That’s how our robot gets targeted drug delivery,” he said.
The innovative design goes beyond most origami-based robots, which only use the ability to fold to control how they transform and move.
The folding movement is also used to perform certain actions, such as extracting drugs, in a manner similar to an accordion that extracts air.
Dr. Zhao and her team also considered how the rigidity of the robot’s deployed shape lends itself to propulsion through the environment.
This allowed the American team to take more advantage of the materials without adding volume.
The more functionality is achieved from a single structure, the less invasive the procedure is, Dr. Zhao explained.
Another unique aspect of the design is the combination of certain geometric features, such as a long hole in the center and sloping slits to the sides, to reduce water resistance and increase efficiency.
Dr. Zhao said: “This design induces negative pressure on the robot for fast swimming and, in the meantime, provides suction for the collection and transport of cargo.
“We make the most of the geometric features of this little robot and explore this unique structure for different applications and functions.”
The millirobot can swim through body fluids, holding the medicine until it reaches the target and then releasing a high-concentration drug.
According to Stanford University mechanical engineer Renee Zhao, the new millirobot is capable of traveling rapidly through the smooth, uneven surfaces of an organ.
Dr. Zhao is working on several different millirobot designs, including a magnetic crawler robot that can pierce his stomach.
This robot is also powered by magnetic fields, which allow continuous motion and allow it to change direction in an instant.
The methods of locomotion are self-selected based on the obstacles it has to overcome in the body, from organs to torrents of fluid.
By just changing the strength and orientation of the magnetic field, the boat can sail ten times its length in a single jump, according to Dr. Zhao.
The new swimming robot, the first of its kind, is among the robots that go further.
The robot is currently being tested prior to animal experiments. If successful, human clinical trials will follow.
The ‘millirobot’ can roll, spin, spin and even swim to enter tight spaces.
Dr. Zhao also plans to continue downsizing her robots in order to continue microscale biomedical research.
Their robots are expected to eventually carry instruments or cameras in their bodies, as well as dispense medications, and be able to change the way doctors examine patients.
“We started looking at how all of this works in parallel,” he said.
“This is a very unique point of this work, and it also has a wide potential application in the biomedical field.”
The study, funded by the National Science Foundation and the American Heart Association, was published in Nature Communications.
A California start-up could send small robots on a journey to the human brain
According to a California-based start-up, miniature robots could be sent inside the human brain to treat disorders inaccessible by other methods.
Bionaut Labs plans to conduct its first human clinical trials in two years, for its small injectable robots, which can be carefully guided by the brain using magnets.
Working with the prestigious Max Planck Research Institutes in Germany, they opted for magnets to propel the robot so that it does not harm the human body.
The magnetic coils placed outside the patient’s skull are connected to a computer that can remotely and delicately maneuver the microrobot toward the affected part of the brain.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given firm approval for clinical trials involving the treatment of Dandy-Walker syndrome, as well as malignant gliomas, cancerous brain tumors that are often considered inoperable. .