Building a micro robot to help treat tumors

An Australian startup is about to send microscopic robots deep into the human skull to treat brain diseases like Dandy-Walker syndrome and gliomas.

Bionaut Labs plans to conduct clinical trials of a microrobot that can be injected into the body and guided into the brain with a magnet within the next two years. Similar to today's cell phones containing more components smaller than a grain of rice, the microrobots developed by the company were once seen as science fiction in the 1950s, according to co-founder and chief executive officer Michael Shpigelmacher. and 1960.

Bionaut Labs Micro Robot.

In cooperation with the German research institute Max Planck, Bionaut Labs uses magnetic energy to propel the robot instead of using optical or ultrasonic techniques to avoid harm to the body. Magnetic coils placed outside the patient's skull are connected to a computer, allowing remote control and delivery of the robot to the area of ​​the brain to be treated, before being removed in the same route. The whole process uses 10-100 times less electricity than magnetic resonance imaging.

In one simulation, a metal cylinder a few millimeters long slowly moved along a programmed path in a gel-filled container with a density similar to that of a human brain. After approaching the bag containing the blue liquid, the robot launched extremely fast and pierced the bag with a sharp tip to release the liquid.

The researchers plan to use the robot to puncture fluid-filled cysts inside the brain when clinical trials begin in two years. If successful, the process could be used to treat the rare Dandy-Walker syndrome that affects children. People with this congenital condition can develop cysts the size of golf balls, which swell and increase pressure on the brain, leading to a series of dangerous neurological complications.

Bionaut Labs has tested the robot on large animals such as sheep and pigs. The data shows that robots are safe for humans. If approved, the new robot has many advantages over current methods of treating neurological disorders. "Most surgery and brain interventions are limited because they can only be performed in a straight line. Microrobot technology allows to reach targets that you can't get close to in as safe a route as possible. ", said Shpigelmacher.

Last year, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Bionaut Labs for clinical trials of the technology to treat Dandy-Walker syndrome and glioma, brain tumors that are difficult to treat.