Implantable microroBOT

Descripción del proyecto

Microrrobots médicos convertidos en implantes

La robótica médica a pequeña escala pretende administrar tratamientos precisos en el cuerpo humano, inspirándose en la ciencia ficción. Sin embargo, los microrrobots actuales solo pueden administrar fármacos o células y dependen de señales externas para mantenerse en forma. Los robots tienen dificultades para realizar tareas complejas, como encajar en zonas objetivo o mantenerse estables a lo largo del tiempo. Su falta de autonomía limita su uso en procedimientos médicos fundamentales. En este contexto, el proyecto I-BOT, financiado por el Consejo Europeo de Investigación, pretende resolver los retos desarrollando microrrobots implantables con materiales avanzados. Dichos robots utilizan guía magnética y materiales con memoria de forma para moverse y ajustarse dentro del cuerpo. El equipo de I-BOT probará estos microrrobots en escenarios médicos reales para demostrar su eficacia y potencial de uso futuro en el tratamiento de pacientes.

Objetivo

Small-scale medical robotics was born from a science fiction vision: shrinking down a group of surgeons and letting them swim to the brain to save a patient’s life. This vision calls for precision, efficiency in delivering force and noninvasiveness. Conversely, the microrobots proposed so far are only able to perform drug or cell delivery. Furthermore, their capability to keep an active configuration is strictly dependent on the presence of a certain external stimulus. In this ERC project I aim to tackle these challenges by devising new actuation mechanisms, control and imaging strategies allowing the microrobots to exert suitable forces and prolonging their lifetime. I-BOT proposes the first generation of implantable microrobots featured by a multi-material structure including a liquid perfluorocarbon core and a shape memory polymers magnetic composite skin. By exploiting magnetic material programming, microrobots will be capable of multimodal locomotion under magnetic guidance. Upon target reaching, low intensity pulsed ultrasound and alternated magnetic fields will trigger acoustic droplet vaporization and magnetic hyperthermia. This will produce simultaneous volumetric expansion of the internal chamber and deformation of the surrounding skin to allow fitting the implant site. Shape memory polymers will ensure shape locking upon removal of the triggering signals thus stable implant. Ultrasound acoustic phase analysis will allow microrobot tracking over the entire implant procedure and prolonged lesion monitoring upon implantation.
The I-BOT approach will be validated in three relevant validation scenarios (ulcer filling, vascular graft and long term tumoral lesion monitoring) to demonstrate the flexibility of the approach and to unveil the potentialities and the impact of implantable microrobots. As a final step, the most promising validation scenario will be tested in vivo in large animals, as a step forward in moving microrobots from the bench to the bedside.