Therapeutic robots may soon swim within the body
Scientists look to nature for clues about how to build and power these microrobots
Lindsey Konkel
Jul 6, 2017 — 7:10 am EST
A computer model shows a robot called a microswimmer boring through plaque, a fatty material that can build up inside someone’s arteries. Too much plaque can block the arteries and lead to a heart attack. These microrobots are barely visible to the human eye — they’re about the size of a speck of dust.
Imagine a microscopic machine that could swim through a person’s blood vessels on its way to delivering medicine to a cancerous tumor. Or one that unclogs an artery to prevent a heart attack, or even performs delicate vision-saving surgery from inside the eye. These feats aren’t possible yet. But researchers are designing miniature robots, called microswimmers, that may soon do all of these things. And more.
https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/therapeutic-robots-may-soon-swim-within-body
