Researchers have created nanoscale robots that can be used to treat cerebral bleeding caused by aneurysms. This progress could enable precise, relatively low-risk treatment of cerebral aneurysms, which kill approximately 500,000 people worldwide each year. The disease-blood-filled bumps on cerebral arteries that can rupture and cause fatal bleeding-can also lead to strokes and disability.
Researchers said the study points to the future that micro robots could be controlled remotely to perform complex tasks in the human body in a minimally invasive manner, such as targeted drug delivery and organ repair.
A swarm of robots
The team, composed of researchers from the University of Edinburgh, designed a magnetic nanorobot, about one-twentieth the size of a human red blood cell, which contains a blood coagulation drug wrapped in a protective coating designed to melt at precise temperatures. The work was published in Small magazine.
In laboratory tests, hundreds of billions of such robots were injected into arteries and then remotely guided in a swarm to the aneurysm site using magnets and medical imaging.
An external magnetic source then gathers the robots together inside the aneurysm and heats them to its melting point, releasing a naturally occurring clotting protein that blocks the aneurysm, preventing or stopping brain bleeding.
laboratory tests
An international team co-led by clinicians at Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine in China successfully tested their device in the laboratory and in a small number of rabbit aneurysm models.
The team said the nanorobots have shown the potential to transport and release drug molecules to precise locations in the body without the risk of leaking into the bloodstream, a key test of the technology’s safety and effectiveness.
This research could pave the way for further development of human trials.
great potential
Their progress could improve current treatments for cerebral aneurysms. Typically, doctors would thread a tiny microcatheter along the blood vessel and then use it to insert a metal coil to block blood flow from the aneurysm, or insert a mesh tube called a stent to divert blood flow from the artery.
Researchers say their new technology could reduce the risk of the body rejecting implant materials and curb reliance on anticoagulants, which can cause bleeding and stomach problems.
The researchers said the method also avoids the need for doctors to manually shape microcatheters to guide the complex network of small blood vessels in the brain to the aneurysm-a arduous task that can take hours during the surgery.
Large cerebral aneurysms (which are difficult to plug quickly and safely using metal coils or stents) can also be treated using new techniques.
The research was led by a team from the UK and China who also developed nanorobots to clear blood clots, which have shown potential in treating stroke.
“Nanorobots will open up new areas in medicine-potentially allowing us to perform surgical repairs at lower risk than traditional treatments and to accurately target drugs in hard-to-reach parts of the body. Our research is an important step towards achieving this goal. These technologies are closer to treating critical illness in a clinical setting.” Dr. Zhou Qi said.
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Original text:https://phys.org/news/2024-09-tiny-magnetic-robots-brain.html
More information: Jienan Wang et al, Nanoarchitectonic Engineering of Thermal‐Responsive Magnetic Nanorobot Collectives for Intracranial Aneurysm Therapy, Small (2024). DOI: 10.1002/smll.202400408
Journal information: Small
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