Categories: Tech

Grain-sized robot could change how doctors deliver drugs

Scientists in Switzerland have built a robot as small as a grain of sand. Surgeons control it with magnets and move it through blood vessels to place medicine exactly where it is needed.

Bradley J. Nelson, an author of the paper in Science and a professor of robotics at ETH Zurich, said the team has barely begun to understand what this technology will make possible. He expects surgeons will find many new uses once they see how precise the tool becomes inside the body.

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Medical tools are becoming smaller as researchers push drug delivery toward more precise treatment. (iStock)

RICE-SIZED ROBOT COULD MAKE BRAIN SURGERY SAFER AND LESS INVASIVE

How the magnet steered microrobot works

The robot sits inside a capsule that surgeons guide with magnetic fields. They steer it with a handheld controller that feels familiar and intuitive. Surrounding the patient are six electromagnetic coils. Each coil generates a magnetic force that can push or pull the capsule in any direction.

By combining the fields, surgeons can navigate through blood vessels or cerebrospinal fluid with accuracy. The magnetic force is strong enough to move the capsule even against the flow of blood. This control lets the robot reach places most tools cannot access safely.

The capsule is made from safe materials used in other medical devices such as tantalum, which gives it visibility on X-rays. It also contains iron oxide nanoparticles developed at ETH Zurich. These particles respond to magnets and help the capsule move. Gelatin binds the nanoparticles, the metal and the medication together.

When the capsule reaches its target, surgeons can dissolve the capsule on command. Doctors track every move in real time with X-ray imaging.

HUMANOID ROBOT PERFORMS MEDICAL PROCEDURES VIA REMOTE CONTROL

Why targeted drug delivery matters

Many drugs fail during development because they spread through the entire body rather than staying at the site that needs treatment. That spread causes unwanted side effects. Even simple medicines like aspirin show how this works. You take a pill for a headache, and yet the drug flows everywhere.

The materials inside the capsule work together to respond to magnetic fields, carry medication and dissolve once it reaches its target. (iStock)

A microrobot that can deliver medication directly to a tumor, blood vessel or abnormal tissue could solve that problem. ETH Zurich researchers say the capsule may help treat aneurysms, aggressive brain cancers, and arteriovenous malformations. Tests in pigs and silicone blood vessel models show encouraging results. The team believes this system may reach human clinical trials within three to five years.

What this means to you

If this technology succeeds, future treatments may feel very different from the ones you get today. Instead of receiving medicine that affects your whole body, you may receive therapy that reaches only the exact spot that needs attention. That shift could reduce side effects, shorten recovery times and open the door to new drug designs that were once too risky to use.

Precision care also has the potential to make complex procedures safer for patients who cannot tolerate invasive surgery. Families dealing with aggressive cancers or delicate vascular conditions may eventually benefit from approaches that rely on targeted tools instead of broad systemic drugs.

ROBOTS PERFORM LIKE HUMAN SURGEONS BY JUST WATCHING VIDEOS

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Kurt’s key takeaways

The idea of a grain-sized robot navigating the bloodstream sounds bold, yet the science behind it is moving forward fast. Researchers have shown that the capsule moves with precision, tracks well under imaging and dissolves on command. Early results hint at a future where drug delivery becomes far more focused and far less harmful. This work still sits in the early stages, but it already points toward a new era of medical robotics.

Researchers create a tiny medical robot controlled by magnetic fields that can target tumors and treat brain cancers with pinpoint accuracy. (iStock)

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If doctors could send a tiny robot directly to the source of a medical problem, what treatment would you want this technology to improve first? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.