doctor, i think i have a robot in my intestines
They say it is going to be the world's first microbot to be able to swim through arteries and the digestive system.
They are an international team of scientist who are working on a robot that has a width of 2 human hairs. The leader of the team is James Friend, who is a scientist at the Micro/Nanophysics Research Laboratory at Australia's Monash University.
This robot is so small that it is able to swim through many organs such as the heart, and is able to perform 'minimally invasive microsurgeries', according to Friend. The robot is designed to be able to transmit images from inside the human body; and also deliver microscopic payloads to parts of the body which is outside the reach of current technologies.
For example, the robot is able to release a payload of microscopic glue onto a damaged brain artery. Usually this process is highly dangerous because these brain arteries are situated behind complicated sets of bend at the base of the skull. Only the most flexible catheters can possibly reach these places. To make matters worse, any puncture of these arteries will be fatal.
The robot is administered to the human body through a syringe and guided by remote control. Once it has completed its missions within the body, it can return to the point of entry and be extracted by a syringe.
The possible potential of this microbot extends to region of the body that current technology cannot reach. Patients with stroke, embolism and vascular-disease should, according to the scientist, be the first to benefit from this robot.
This microbot's design is inspired by the E. coli bacterium, with flagella to propel it through the body. The initial materials used for the flagella are human hair, but later plans are directed towards using Kevlar.
The breakthrough in this robot is the propulsion system. Within the micromotor, Friend and his team are exploiting the use of piezoelectric materials-- crystals that give off electric charges when mechanically stressed. These crystals vibrate a twisted micromechanism within the robot at ultrasonic frequencies. This process eventually leads to a rotor rotating and thus propelling the system.
Video of the actuator:
In the case the motor breaks down, the plan is to extract the robot at the entry point. Thus it needs to be inserted and controlled to swim upstream of the blood.
Currently the scientist are working at the micro device in charge of delivering the imaging and deliver the payloads. Scheduled for a completed version in 2009, there are already larger prototypes of the motor ready, which is about the size of a grain of sand.
Friend also needs the public's help in naming the robot.
article at http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/news/2007/01/72448
Sim Jian Ping
U036080A
