MSGID: 1:317/3 646ee4b0   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Medical 'microrobots' could one day treat bladder disease, other human   
   illnesses    
      
     Date:   
         May 24, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of Colorado at Boulder   
     Summary:   
         Engineers have designed a new class of 'microrobots' several times   
         smaller than the width of a human hair that may be able to treat   
         human illnesses like interstitial cystitis -- a painful bladder   
         disease that affects millions of Americans.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
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   A team of engineers at the University of Colorado Boulder has designed   
   a new class of tiny, self-propelled robots that can zip through liquid   
   at incredible speeds -- and may one day even deliver prescription drugs   
   to hard-to-reach places inside the human body.   
      
   The researchers describe their mini healthcare providers in a paper   
   published last month in the journal Small.   
      
   "Imagine if microrobots could perform certain tasks in the body, such   
   as non- invasive surgeries," said Jin Lee, lead author of the study and   
   a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Chemical and Biological   
   Engineering. "Instead of cutting into the patient, we can simply introduce   
   the robots to the body through a pill or an injection, and they would   
   perform the procedure themselves."  Lee and his colleagues aren't there   
   yet, but the new research is big step forward for tiny robots.   
      
   The group's microrobots are really small. Each one measures only   
   20 micrometers wide, several times smaller than the width of a human   
   hair. They're also really fast, capable of traveling at speeds of about   
   3 millimeters per second, or roughly 9,000 times their own length per   
   minute. That's many times faster than a cheetah in relative terms.   
      
   They have a lot of potential, too. In the new study, the group deployed   
   fleets of these machines to transport doses of dexamethasone, a common   
   steroid medication, to the bladders of lab mice. The results suggest   
   that microrobots may be a useful tool for treating bladder diseases and   
   other illnesses in people.   
      
   "Microscale robots have garnered a lot of excitement in scientific   
   circles, but what makes them interesting to us is that we can design   
   them to perform useful tasks in the body," said C. Wyatt Shields,   
   a co-author of the new study and assistant professor of chemical and   
   biological engineering.   
      
   Fantastic Voyage If that sounds like something ripped from science   
   fiction, that's because it is. In the classic film Fantastic Voyage,   
   a group of adventurers travels via a shrunken-down submarine into the   
   body of a man in a coma.   
      
   "The movie was released in 1966. Today, we are living in an era of   
   micrometer- and nanometer-scale robots," Lee said.   
      
   He imagines that, just like in the movie, microrobots could swirl   
   through a person's blood stream, seeking out targeted areas to treat   
   for various ailments.   
      
   The team makes its microrobots out of materials called biocompatible   
   polymers using a technology similar to 3D printing. The machines look a   
   bit like small rockets and come complete with three tiny fins. They also   
   include a little something extra: Each of the robots carries a small   
   bubble of trapped air, similar to what happens when you dunk a glass   
   upside-down in water. If you expose the machines to an acoustic field,   
   like the kind used in ultrasound, the bubbles will begin to vibrate   
   wildly, pushing water away and shooting the robots forward.   
      
   Other CU Boulder co-authors of the new study include Nick Bottenus,   
   assistant professor of mechanical engineering; Ankur Gupta, assistant   
   professor of chemical and biological engineering; and engineering graduate   
   students Ritu Raj, Cooper Thome, Nicole Day and Payton Martinez.   
      
   To take their microrobots for a test drive, the researchers set their   
   sights on a common problem for humans: bladder disease.   
      
   Bringing relief Interstitial cystitis, also known as painful bladder   
   syndrome, affects millions of Americans and, as its name suggests,   
   can cause severe pelvic pain. Treating the disease can be equally   
   uncomfortable. Often, patients have to come into a clinic several   
   times over a period of weeks where a doctor injects a harsh solution of   
   dexamethasone into the bladder through a catheter.   
      
   Lee believes that microrobots may be able to provide some relief.   
      
   In laboratory experiments, the researchers fabricated schools of   
   microrobots encapsulating high concentrations of dexamethasone. They then   
   introduced thousands of those bots into the bladders of lab mice. The   
   result was a real- life Fantastic Voyage: The microrobots dispersed   
   through the organs before sticking onto the bladder walls, which would   
   likely make them difficult to pee out.   
      
   Once there, the machines slowly released their dexamethasone over the   
   course of about two days. Such a steady flow of medicine could allow   
   patients to receive more drugs over a longer span of time, Lee said,   
   improving outcomes for patients.   
      
   He added that the team has a lot of work to do before microrobots can   
   travel through real human bodies. For a start, the group wants to make   
   the machines fully biodegradable so that they would eventually dissolve   
   in the body.   
      
   "If we can make these particles work in the bladder," Lee said, "then we   
   can achieve a more sustained drug release, and maybe patients wouldn't   
   have to come into the clinic as often."   
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Health_&_Medicine   
                   # Bladder_Disorders # Healthy_Aging # Urology   
             o Matter_&_Energy   
                   # Engineering # Nanotechnology # Nature_of_Water   
             o Computers_&_Math   
                   # Robotics # Artificial_Intelligence # Computer_Science   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Trichomoniasis o Carbon_nanotube o Hair o Arthritis o   
             Urinary_incontinence o Chemotherapy o Psychoactive_drug o Polio   
      
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   Story Source: Materials provided by   
   University_of_Colorado_at_Boulder. Original written by Daniel   
   Strain. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
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   Journal Reference:   
      1. Jin Gyun Lee, Ritu R. Raj, Cooper P. Thome, Nicole B. Day, Payton   
         Martinez, Nick Bottenus, Ankur Gupta, C. Wyatt Shields.   
      
         Bubble‐Based Microrobots with Rapid Circular Motions   
         for Epithelial Pinning and Drug Delivery. Small, 2023; DOI:   
         10.1002/smll.202300409   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/05/230524181939.htm   
      
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