Swarms of tiny nose robots could clear infected sinuses, researchers say | Medical research

Ships of tiny robots, not more than a grain of dust, could be deployed to heal the tied up infected sinuses before being blown through the nose in a fabric, researchers said.

Micro-robots are a fraction of the width of human hair and have been successfully inserted into animal sinuses in preclinical trials by researchers from the universities of China and Hong Kong.

The swarms are injected into the sinus cavity via a threaded duct through the nostril and guided towards their target by electromagnetism, where they can be manufactured to heat and catalyze chemical reactions to eliminate bacterial infections. There is hope that targeted technology could possibly reduce dependence on antibiotics and other generalized drugs.

The tiny devices are part of the expansion domain of micro and nano-robots to be used in medicine. They were also developed to issue medication and to eliminate bacteria from medical implants such as herniated stents and meshes.

Experts believe that they could be used clinical to treat infections in bladder, intestines and sinuses in five to 10 years. Scientists in China, Switzerland, the United States and the United Kingdom develop more sophisticated versions capable of moving into the bloodstream.

The latest development came from a collaboration of academics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and universities of Guangxi, Shenzhen, Jiangsu, Yangzhou and Macao.

Researchers in the emerging domain recognize that the risks include some of the tiny micro-robots left after treatment, which could cause long-term side effects.

Another potential problem, quoted by technology experts, is public suspicion at the idea of ​​welcoming robots in the human body and conspiracy theories resulting around fears that robots could be activated without consent.

The last breakthrough, based on animal tests rather than human, implies magnetic particles “doped” with copper atoms that clinicians inserted with a catheter before guiding their target under a magnetic field.

The swarms can be heated by reacting to the light from an optical fiber which is also inserted into the body as part of the therapy. This allows micro-robots to loosen and penetrate the viscous pus which constitutes a barrier to the infection site. The light source also invites micro-robots to disrupt bacterial cell walls and release reactive oxygen species that kill bacteria.

The study, published in Science Robotics, has shown that robots were capable of eradicating bacteria from Porcs sinuses and could erase infections in living rabbits with “no obvious tissue damage”.

Researchers have produced a model of how technology could work on a human being, robot swarms being deployed in operational theater conditions, allowing doctors to see their progress by using X-rays. Future applications could include the fight against bacterial infections of the respiratory tract, stomach, intestine, bladder and urethra.

“Our proposed micro-rootic therapeutic platform offers the advantages of non-invasion, minimum resistance and medication without medication,” they said.

Professor Sylvain Martel, director of the Nano Robotics Laboratory of the Montreal Polytechnic in Canada, who was not involved in research, said that science seemed effective.

“It’s like a rocket that you can direct with a magnetic field,” he said.

He predicted that micro-robots could be available for treatments in three to five years, but perhaps not for another decade, because regulators must still approve their use and manufacturing processes, which differ from those of standard pharmaceutical products.

“The main advantage of micro-robots is targeting,” said Martel. “Instead of taking medication that falls into the bloodstream and a small amount goes to the right place, you can target.”

He said that the public would soon put all the fears aside on the idea of ​​having robotic devices in their bodies.

“Maybe at the beginning [they will be afraid]”He said.” But they will get used to it fairly quickly. »»

Dr. Andrea Soltoggio, an artificial intelligence reader at the University of Lughborough, said: “The public can be wary of non-biological objects such as nano-robots inserted in our body. This can even trigger conspiracy theories.

“But it is important to see how designed the nano-robots are. In this case, we see an example of targeted intervention to reduce or eradicate an infection by a localized action.

“The behavior of nano-robots is often simpler and more targeted than many drugs and they could effectively complete a wide range of therapies.”