A breakthrough: Tiny circulating microrobots, which are as small as red blood cells (left picture), were visualised one-by-one in the blood vessels of mice with optoacoustic imaging (right picture).
A breakthrough: Tiny circulating microrobots, which are as small as red blood cells ( left picture ), were visualised one-by-one in the blood vessels of mice with optoacoustic imaging ( right picture ) . Microrobots have the potential to revolutionize medicine. Researchers at the Max Planck ETH Centre for Learning Systems have now developed an imaging technique that for the first time recognises cell-sized microrobots individually and at high resolution in a living organism. How can a blood clot be removed from the brain without any major surgical intervention? How can a drug be delivered precisely into a diseased organ that is difficult to reach? Those are just two examples of the countless innovations envisioned by the researchers in the field of medical microrobotics. Tiny robots promise to fundamentally change future medical treatments: one day, they could move through patient's vasculature to eliminate malignancies, fight infections or provide precise diagnostic information entirely noninvasively. In principle, so the researchers argue, the circulatory system might serve as an ideal delivery route for the microrobots, since it reaches all organs and tissues in the body. For such microrobots to be able to perform the intended medical interventions safely and reliably, they must not be larger than a biological cell.
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