Invisible optometrist. 5 microrobots inside our body to replace doctors

In recent years, scientists around the world have been looking for ways to use nanorobots to treat diseases. They are introduced into the human body to deliver medicine or to perform operations that require maximum accuracy (for example, cleaning clogged arteries). Replacing an invasive, often complex operation, such robots can significantly optimize medicine - and now this reality is closer than ever.

Oyster eye robot

Microscopic medical robots have one problem: it is almost impossible to install at least some motors and drives, since there is hardly enough space for the necessary electronics. Considering that the ophthalmic fluid has very specific properties, the usual drive is not suitable for the movement of microscopic robots.

The solution to this problem turned out to be oyster robots, which use a reciprocating drive - that is, forward and backward movement, and not standard circular rotation.

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Smart Systems (Germany), led by Professor Pir Fischer, have found that oyster-shaped robots are ideal swimmers in non-Newtonian fluids .

Today, the robot-oyster serves as the basic structure of future micro-robots.

Microscopic robot that floats through the crawl veins

Specialists of the Harbin Technical Institute (China) have created a microscopic robot that can swim through the human veins of the fastest type of swimming - the crawl. In size, the device reaches 5 micrometers and is able to swim at a speed of 10 μm / s, covering a distance of 50 meters per month. In the blood, his speed drops to 5.5 μm / s, but this does not prevent him from delivering the medicine to the right organ in time.

The body of the microrobot is made of gold, and the working hands are made of nickel. Due to the change of the magnetic field, scientists of the Institute can easily control its direction of navigation, forcing the robot to move its arms. True, the robot is still too small to deliver the required amount of medicine to the body, and the introduction of a group of robots into a vein is dangerous: it will not be possible to manage each of them individually.

Developers are planning a deep revision. To do this, they use biodegradable materials, increase the size of the robot and modify the swimming system, which will allow several microscopic healers to be launched into the vein. Clinical trials of microrobots are planned for 10 years.

Robot bacterium from developers from EPFL and ETHZ

Scientists at EPFL and ETHZ have developed a robot that has the structure of a bacterium that causes African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness). The bacterium moves with the help of a flagellum and is able to fold it at the right moment. By the same principle, having thrown off most of the options, the scientists developed a microscopic robot that follows the structure of this bacterium and has a flagellum, due to which it can easily move in the blood.

Robots that are shaped like bacteria are made of flexible materials and do not have drives for movement. They are created from a biocompatible hydrogel and magnetic nanoparticles, which allow under the influence of a magnetic field to change the shape of a microrobot and force it to move in the blood.

Scientists have yet to test development for side effects and conduct tests to manage a group of microrobots.

A robot that delivers drugs to the stomach

The University of California, San Diego (USA) has published a report on last year’s successful transportation of the drug to the stomach of an experimental mouse using a microscopic robot. The main task of the microrobot was to deliver particles of gold to the mouse's stomach (imitation of the drug), since this metal does not dissolve under the influence of its gastric juice.

Zinc nanobots moved in the stomach due to a chemical reaction caused by the contact of zinc with gastric juice. As a result of this, microbubbles of hydrogen were formed, which moved the robot forward. The distance of 2.5 cm microrobot overcame 7 minutes.

After performing the task assigned to him by nanobot, the scientists studied the filling of the mouse's stomach. It turned out that the microrobot delivered a piece of gold to the right place on the wall of the stomach, without causing any side effects. Scientists continue to refine nanobot, improving its technology and methods of drug delivery.

Nanits robots from Drexel University

Researchers at Drexel University (USA) showed their latest development to the general public - nanorobots in the form of chains consisting of microscopic balls. The devices were formed in chains from 3 to 13 balls: the longer it is, the faster the nanobot moves.

For the movement of the robot used a magnetic field that rotates the chain like a screw. The faster the magnetic field rotated, the faster the chain would rotate. The high frequency of rotation of the magnetic field led to the deformation of the chain and its division into smaller compounds of 3-4 balls. The maximum speed of movement of the nanobot, which we managed to fix, was 17.85 μm / s.

Scientists continue to work on improving the device. It is planned to use the development of drug delivery throughout the body through the circulatory system.



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