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11:45 2001-10-22
MICRO ROBOT FOR CIRCULATORY SYSTEM
Japanese scientists have created a micro-robot for medical purposes. The robot is supposed to be introduced into the circulatory system of a patient to specially deliver medicine to certain points of human organisms and to search for tumours and to annihilate them. The micro-robot (with length of 8 mm and with 1 mm in diameter) is made of an alloy of neodymium, iron, and boron and looks like a kind of magnetic screw without head. It can be introduced into blood with a syringe. While affecting the robot with outside magnetic field, it can be made revolve in its axis and move inside circulatory system.
According to the creator – Kazushi Ishiama from Tohoku University in the city of Sendai, lab experiments have confirmed this method to be effective to make the robot move, Deutsche Welle reports. And besides, the robot is able not only to move along blood vessels but also to penetrate into tissues as well. During the experiments, the robot overpassed a 2-centimeter-thick beefsteak in 20 seconds.
Therefore, scientists can introduce the robot inside tumours and by changing the parameters of the outside magnetic field to heat the robot and to thermally annihilate cancer cells.
However, it is too early to speak about the practical use of the robot. In particular, it is not clear how to prevent its sticking in blood vessels.
Pravda.RU
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23rd October 2001, 06:30
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