International Research Team Develops Nanorobots to Treat Brain Aneurysms

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – An international team of researchers from Scotland and China have created nanoscale robots that may be used to treat bleeds in the brain caused by aneurysms. An aneurysm is a blood-filled bulge on a brain artery which, if it ruptures, can cause a stroke, disability, or death.

The groundbreaking new nanoscale robots were developed during a study conducted by researchers from Scotland’s University of Edinburgh and clinicians from China’s Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. The study has been published in Small journal.

The researchers believe the nanorobots may eventually be remotely controlled to perform minimally invasive medical interventions inside the human body, including drug delivery and organ repair.

“The team, involving researchers from the University of Edinburgh, engineered magnetic nanorobots – about a twentieth the size of a human red blood cell – comprising blood-clotting drugs encased in a protective coating, designed to melt at precise temperatures,” the University of Edinburgh reported in a September 6 press release.

“Magnetic sources outside the body then cause the robots to cluster together inside the aneurysm and be heated to their melting point, releasing a naturally occurring blood-clotting protein, which blocks the aneurysm to prevent or stem bleeding into the brain,” the University of Edinburgh said.

In a statement, study co-author Dr Qi Zhou of the School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh added: “Nanorobots are set to open new frontiers in medicine – potentially allowing us to carry out surgical repairs with fewer risks than conventional treatments and target drugs with pinpoint accuracy in hard-to-reach parts of the body. Our study is an important step towards bringing these technologies closer to treating critical medical conditions in a clinical setting.”

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