Egyptian researchers experimenting with Microrobots to disintegrate dangerous blood clots in veins

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service - if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at http://ift.tt/jcXqJW.

Tuesday 20 Oct 2015 - 13:09 Makkah mean time-7-1-1437 (Image from OnIslam) Cairo, (IINA) - A group of Egyptian researchers is experimenting with Microrobots to disintegrate dangerous blood clots in veins, OnIslam reported. Thrombosis is a process in which abnormal blood clots form within veins, impeding the flow of blood to the heart. Thrombosis can have serious consequences, including death. Smoking, some types of cancer, chronic diseases, a family history of thrombosis, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and aging are all common risk factors for the development of thrombosis. Researchers at the Medical Micro & Nano Robotics Laboratory at the German University in Cairo (GUC) have developed a two-millimeter-long, 300-micrometer-wide helical Microrobot, which was inspired by the corkscrew-like motion of the bacterium Escherichia coli. A magnetic torque inside the Microrobot drives the tiny helical machine via a magnetic field, allowing it to “swim” through the body’s veins. The plan is for the robot to enter thrombotic clots and disintegrate them. "The aim of this project is to study the effect of injected intravenous Microrobots on disintegrating targeted clots resulting from the high-risk factors that most of the elderly are vulnerable to," says molecular pathologist Professor Nabila Hamdi. To investigate whether Microrobots could pass through a blood clot, the research team mimicked a vein that was filled with a synthetic, blood-like, clear gelatinous fluid that has similar viscosity to human blood. The robots received energy through an internally placed electromagnetic system that has a controlled frequency range and, as a consequence, moved to a reference point inside the vein. The team used a scanning electron microscope imaging system in addition to an electromagnetic coil aided with a camera and a microscope to receive feedback on the helical motion of the Microrobots through the artificial fluidic system. In preliminary experiments, the Microrobots succeeded in penetrating artificial clots but was unsuccessful when faced with a real blood clot, Dr. Hamdi explains. The Microrobot was unable to pass through a real blood clot because it was more viscous than the experimental gelatinous clot. But the team is working on to overcome this issue. They are planning on adding an anticoagulant drug to the Microrobot, which should help it penetrate clots. Microrobots also need to be biocompatible and biodegradable. The head of the helical Microrobot is made of cobalt and nickel. When the concentrations of these metals increase in the body to more than 5mg/day, it may negatively impact the spleen and liver. The team has taken this into consideration in their design. The Microrobot is completely removed from the body once its job is done, says Ibrahim Saeed, one of the research assistants involved in the project. Microrobots are made from biodegradable and biocompatible materials, which can easily digested by wither bacteria or immune system within the body. "The next stage will be ameliorating this ongoing project by executing ex-vivo studies due to the difficulty of performing these experiments on small-sized veins of animal models," Dr. Hamdi added. SM/IINA