Ont. researchers create plant-based micro-robots to help with medical procedures
A team of researchers at the University of Waterloo have created advanced materials that will become the foundation for a new era of soft medical micro-robots.
Chemical engineering professor Hamed Shahsavan is leading the way with these tiny robots, which have the potential to conduct medical procedures such as biopsies and cell and tissue transports in a minimally invasive way without the syringes or catheters usually needed.
For now, they're a maximum of one-centimetre long and here's the catch – they're plant-based.
In creating the devices, Shahsavan said the team asked themselves: “How can we shoot the surgeons inside the body?”
The answer involved making robots out of advanced hydrogel composites that include sustainable cellulose nanoparticles derived from plants.
“They are not toxic. They don't show any immune response or foreign body response,” Shahsavan said.
The robots can move through confined and flooded areas, like the human body, and deliver delicate and light cargo, like cells or tissues, to a target position.
Shahsavan says the hydrogel used in this work changes its shape when exposed to external chemical stimulation. That enables researchers to program shape-change.
Magnetism also helps movement of the robots through the body. Researchers moved the tiny robot through a maze, as an example, to show how it would maneuver inside the human body.
A programmable soft robot navigates through a maze in a proof of concept. (Submitted/University of Waterloo)
“Expose them to electric magnetic field, or different temperatures or even acidity, alkalinity and then they change their shape. Instead of isotropically, same in all directions, they change their shape in a way we dictate it,” Shahsavan said.
Researchers can trigger a shape-change in the robots essentially at will – making them curl or twist, prompting them to pick things up and drop them off.
“It's not going to replace your open heart surgery but it's going to cover many grounds that could be covered non-invasively,” Shahsavan said.
The next step in this research is to scale the robot down to submillimetre scales.
Although the team believes we’re still about a decade off from seeing these type of device in our hospitals, it’s a big step towards more minimally invasive medical procedures.
You can learn more about the research here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Live updates: Tornadoes reported in southwest Florida as Hurricane Milton approaches
Hurricane Milton is a Category 4 storm forecast to bring extreme flooding, high winds and heavy rain to the central west coast of Florida.
Pilot dies aboard Turkish Airlines flight, forcing emergency landing in New York
A Turkish Airlines jetliner headed from Seattle to Istanbul made an emergency landing in New York on Wednesday after the captain died on board, an airline official said.
Hundreds of thousands of popular vehicles recalled in Canada over steering issue
Hundreds of thousands of vehicles are being recalled in Canada due to a steering-related issue that could increase a driver's risk of crash.
What women should know about their breasts, according to a doctor
One in eight women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in their lifetimes, according to the American Cancer Society. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death for women in the United States, with 42,000 women dying every year from this cancer.
B.C. protester who praised Hamas allowed to attend rallies again
A B.C. woman who was recorded praising Hamas as 'heroic and brave' can return to protest rallies, authorities confirmed this week.
'We have lost two of our friends': Sask. family searching for information in fatal shooting of pet dogs
Erin Folk and her family are dealing with a nightmare of a situation, after their pet dogs were shot last week and left to suffer.
'A cause for concern': Canadian universities slip down world ranking list
An organization that ranks the best universities across the globe says its latest report shows a concerning trend that several of Canada’s institutions are slipping down its list.
COVID-19 may increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes and deaths for three years after an infection, study suggests
COVID-19 could be a powerful risk factor for heart attacks and strokes for as long as three years after an infection, a large new study suggests.
New actions announced to encourage building of secondary suites, more homes in Canada
The federal government introduced a number of measures related to housing on Tuesday, which include measures for homeowners wanting to add a secondary suite, taxing vacant land and building homes in place of underused federal properties.