Microscopic robots might be a common sci-fi theme, but they’re increasingly finding their way into real-life applications.
The most recent application comes from a team of researchers in Canada who are using tiny bots, in conjunction with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines, to treat liver cancer. As the robots are made of iron-oxide nanoparticles, they can be guided by an external magnetic field – in this case, the field generated by the MRI machine – to theoretically provide targeted medical treatment.
To do this, the researchers have developed an algorithm to guide the microrobots to the arterial branches that feed a tumour. The algorithm fine-tunes the magnetic field to overcome the force of gravity acting on the robots (in case the spot where the robots are injected is lower than the tumour) and accurately guide them to the treatment sites.