2023-06-02 09:00:00
Treatment of Bladder Syndrome
Robert Klatt
Microrobots under the scanning electron microscope
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A new micro-robot can “drive” through the body and administer drugs in organs over longer periods of time. In the future, the robots might help people with interstitial cystitis (painful bladder syndrome), who currently need a drug injected into the bladder via a catheter.
Boulder (U.S.A.). scientists of University of Colorado Boulder (CU) have developed a tiny robot that can move through liquids with amazing speed. As Jin Lee explains, the micro-robot is to be used in medicine in the future and deliver medicines to hard-to-reach places in the human body.
“Imagine microrobots being able to perform specific tasks in the body, such as non-invasive surgery. Instead of cutting the patient open, we might just insert the robots into the body through a pill or an injection, and they would perform the procedure themselves.”
The microrobot is only 20 micrometers wide, which is many times smaller than the width of a human hair. In addition, it can reach speeds of around 3 millimeters per second, which corresponds to around 9,000 times its own length per minute.
Successful experiments with mice
According to the publication in the specialist magazine Small the developers tested a swarm of the tiny robots enclosing high concentrations of dexamethasone with mice. They were able to successfully navigate thousands of the robots into these animal bubbles. Once there, the machines in the organ slowly released her dexamethasone over a period of regarding two days.
Such continuous drug delivery might allow patients to receive more drugs over a longer period of time, which might improve treatment outcomes. As C. Wyatt Shields explains, the results suggest that such microrobots might prove to be an effective means of treating bladder diseases and other ailments in humans.
“Mini-robots have generated a lot of excitement in scientific circles, but what makes them interesting for us is that we can design them to perform useful tasks in the body.”
In the future, the micro-robots might help people with interstitial cystitis, also known as painful bladder syndrome. Treating this condition can also be very uncomfortable. Often, patients have to make multiple visits to a clinic over a period of several weeks, where a doctor injects a strong solution of dexamethasone into the bladder through a catheter.
A lot of work is still needed before the microrobots can travel through real human bodies. The researchers want to make the machines fully biodegradable, so they would eventually dissolve in the body.
Microrobots made from biocompatible polymers
The team makes their microrobots from so-called biocompatible polymers, using technology similar to 3D printing. The tiny machines resemble small rockets, complete with three tiny fins. Each robot carries a small trapped air bubble, similar to the phenomenon of dipping a glass upside down in water. When the machines are exposed to an acoustic field, similar to ultrasonic technology, the air bubbles begin to vibrate wildly, repelling water and propelling the robots forward.
Small, doi: 10.1002/smll.202300409
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#Microrobots #place #drugs #organs
