Brain surgery is a daunting prospect, and any advancements that can limit or eliminate time on the operating table can change the game. Scientists have now found a method to deliver life-saving medication to the brain in a minimally invasive medical procedure, reducing risks while achieving precision.
Each year, brain aneurysms claim the lives of approximately 500,000 people worldwide. An international team of scientists, including researchers from the University of Edinburgh, has developed a tiny robotic system that can treat brain aneurysms more safely and precisely than traditional methods. According to Live Science, these micro-robots have a diameter of just 295 nanometers, which is one-twentieth the size of a human red blood cell.
The research team designed nanorobots with a magnetic core and coated them with a thrombin clotting agent, which doctors use to treat aneurysms. The protective coating melts at a specific temperature, controlling the release of medication. Then, scientists use another magnetic field to heat the nanorobots. This process is carefully regulated to maintain temperatures below 122°F (50°C), ensuring that surrounding delicate brain tissue is not damaged.
In laboratory tests, doctors injected billions of these miniature robots into arteries and guided them to the aneurysm site using magnetic fields and medical imaging technology. A research team, including clinical doctors from Shanghai’s Sixth People’s Hospital, successfully tested the nanorobots in laboratory models and a small group of rabbits.
In the study, scientists artificially induced aneurysms in the rabbits’ carotid arteries, which are the blood supply arteries to the brain and head. They monitored the test subjects for two weeks after surgery and found that the treated aneurysms showed stable clot formation. These therapeutic clots did not block overall blood flow to the brain but precisely sealed off the weakened areas of the blood vessel.
The study’s co-leader, Dr. Qi Zhou of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Engineering, said, Nanorobots will open new frontiers in medicine, potentially allowing us to perform surgical repairs with lower risk than traditional treatments and deliver medication to areas of the body that are difficult to reach.
Compared to existing brain aneurysm treatment methods, the nanorobot method has several advantages. Traditional methods involve inserting a microcatheter through the blood vessels, inserting a metal coil or stent. This method is time-consuming and risky, with risks including bodily rejection and severe side effects from anticoagulant medications. The nanorobot method also means that doctors do not need to perform lengthy, high-risk invasive surgery by opening the skull.
While these results are promising, further research is needed before the technology can be used in human patients. The research team plans to conduct broader animal trials and improve control systems to guide nanorobots deeper into the brain aneurysms. The rabbit trial was conducted at a shallower depth so that scientists could demonstrate the feasibility of this method.
The research also concludes that this technology could treat other diseases. Researchers have also developed nanorobots that can clear clots. These tiny creatures may provide treatment for stroke patients.
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