Chinese researchers have developed micro-robots capable of moving through blood vessels to reach patients’ brains and directly target tumors, thus avoiding the heavy side effects associated with conventional treatments.
The brain tumors are rare diseases that represent 2% of all cancer deaths. Each year, nearly 5,000 new cases are detected in France. Patients are generally treated with radiotherapy or chemotherapy, treatments with very heavy side effects. In some cases, surgery is an option but it has a limit, and not the least. Indeed, the surgeon cannot remove healthy tissue surrounding the tumor to avoid possible recurrences under penalty of irreversible neurological sequelae. However, new work by Chinese scientists could soon revolutionize treatment in this area. According to an article published on January 20 in the South China Morning Post, researchers have succeeded in creating micro-robots capable of moving through blood vessels to reach patients’ brains and directly target tumours. The results of their study appeared earlier this month in the journal Advanced Functional Materials.
These “robot worms” measure 1 to 3 mm and operate without batteries since they use a system of external magnetic fields. In detail, they have a “head” made of a magnet composed of an alloy of neodymium, iron and boron and a “tail” made from a special composite material. For the robot worm to be activated in his brain, the patient will have to stand still, placed in an MRI machine to create the magnetic field in question. Once in the body, the worm will be able to bring the drugs to the targeted area, avoiding the side effects associated with conventional treatments. His mission completed, he will come out of the patient by himself.
If brain implants already exist, the revolution here lies in the way robots are introduced into the patient, because at present, brain implants can only be inserted through a complicated surgical procedure. They therefore have a limited ability to integrate with neurons and can only limit themselves to a few basic tasks.
“Our objective is not to develop a biological weapon”
Here, the transformation capacity of the new Chinese robots will allow them to survive in this difficult environment where blood flows are rapid and the vessels tiny. They could “function as an implant for the brain-computer interface,” says Xu Tiantian, senior project scientist at the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology. This would allow direct communication with a computer without a keyboard or screen.
But some abilities of these robot worms can however be worrying. Indeed, thanks to infrared radiation, these machines can enter the body of several people. What’s more, the worm’s body made of transparent temperature-sensitive hydrogel allows it to change color in different environments. Based on a video viewed by South China Morning Post, when the researchers immerse the robot worm in a cup of water at room temperature, it becomes almost invisible. Thus, in the long term, the device could also be used for military purposes. “We just hope that day never comes (…) Our goal is not to develop a biological weapon. It’s the opposite”, assures Xu Tiantian to the South China Morning Post.
Also, in order for someone to introduce the micro-robot into another person’s brain against their will, they would have to build a powerful electric field generator with a long effective range, she explains. Finally, it would also be very complicated to send the machine to a specific location without the cooperation of the person in which it will be installed. Indeed, it must remain perfectly still while the robot moves in its body, recalls the researcher. Difficult but not impossible…
.
