Scientists develop small magnetic robots to treat hard-to-reach body parts

Diagnosing and treating diseases that are difficult to access are difficult tasks. However, scientists have found a way out.

A group of robots the size of a blood cell has been developed that can be remotely controlled to diagnose and treat diseases in difficult-to-reach areas of the human body.

Robots are made by coating small algae cells with magnetic particles that can be monitored in tissue near the skin surface by emitting natural fluorescence images of algae, in deeper tissues by means of Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Scientists develop small magnetic robots to treat hard-to-reach body parts Picture 1

In the tests, a series of robots were summoned at a few millionths of a second in length that were guided magnetically to the positions in the stomach of mice.

Researchers, led by people from China University, have developed these micro-robots by coating a tiny layer of algae with harmless magnetic particles with high biological compatibility.

These devices have been tested in the stomach of mice and can swim smoothly in biological liquids, such as dilute blood and gastric juice, according to a study published in Science Robotics.

Scientists, including those from the Universities of Edinburgh and Manchester in the UK, suggest that this progress may lead to a method of distributing drugs to parts of the body that, if not followed access is very difficult to cure.

These robots can also recognize chemical changes related to the onset of disease in parts of the body, making them potentially useful as probes for remote diagnosis.

The time for active and biodegradable robots in the body to be adjusted by adjusting the thickness of the algae coating is made.

In experiments, robots discovered and released strong compounds from algae cores during the process of decay, which attack cancer cells selectively, while leaving the cells healthy is not hurt.