NANOROBOTIC TECHNOLOGY IN THE MEDICAL INDUSTRY
Sakshi Sethi*, Manjeet Kaur
Assistant Professor,
Amity University, Gurgaon, Haryana, India
Abstract
In today’s world, the health care industries
mainly focus on developing minimally
invasive techniques for diagnosis as well as
the treatment of various diseases. The most
budding development in the field of
minimally invasive techniques involves the
fusion of the latest nanomaterial science and
robotics technology with biological knowledge
i.e. Nanorobotics. This paper will deal with
the latest development in this field as well as
the promising future it offers, mainly
focusing on health care and medicine. In the
present work, the nanorobot navigation, its
powering and locomotion in the human body
are discussed.
Keywords:
Nanorobots,
Nanomaterial,
Robotics technology, navigation, locomotion
INTRODUCTION
Since the inception of first vaccine in the
health care industry, there have been
numerous revolutions which led to the
invention of much modern equipment like
MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) [1]. In
the last two decades, there is an overall
development and ever growing literature in
the field of nanotechnology towards the
realization of nanorobots [11]. Nanorobots
are small nano electromechanical systems
which are designed to perform a specific
task or tasks with the precision on the scale
of nanometers (1 nm = 10-9 m) [2]. The
interdisciplinary team of pharmaceutical
scientists, chemists, doctors, medical
researchers, physicists, biologists and
chemical engineers from all over the world
are collectively working to trigger the most
significant revolution in the history of
medicine [5]. This revolution will lead to the
development of robotic systems which
would be ultramini in nature and these
devices would be the bimolecular electromechanical hardware of the future
biomedical applications. The main aim of
having these nanodevices with in the human
body is to manipulate objects in the
nanoworld and transfer the necessary
information from the nano world to macro
world. These devices are being developed in
such a way that they can be operated with
minimal supervision. Also, these are
expected to be highly stable, efficient,
controllable and economical when produced
in masses. Nanorobotics is a minimally
invasive technology wherein nanorobots
might serve as antibodies or antiviral agents
for those patients who have compromised
immune system or are suffering from the
diseases that are difficult to treat with other
conventional
methods.
Some
other
applications of nanorobots may include the
damaged tissue repair, arteriosclerosis [12],
and the construction of complete
replacement body organs. The other noninvasive techniques like X-Rays, MRI and
sonography provides the view of inside body
from outside. The data which we receive
from these techniques is effective, reliable
and moreover the data received is without
physically tampering the subject. But the
data received from nanobots will be much
more accurate and reliable as it gathers the
data of the inside from inside itself. As a
result, the diagnosis will be much more
accurate and the treatment will also be
highly specific as it can be customized for a
particular subject [1].
NANOROBOTICS
Nanorobotics is an emerging field which
deals with the miniscule things at molecular
level. Nanorobots is a small mechanical
structure designed to perform specific tasks
and are capable of sensing, actuation,
signaling,
manipulation,
information
processing, intelligence, and their swarm
behavior at nano scale. After nanorobots are
fully realized from their hypothetical stage,
they will work at the atomic, molecular and
cellular level to perform tasks in both the
industrial and medical fields. These robots
are so small that they can easily cross the
human body. Because of its inertness and
strength, Carbon atoms would likely to be
the main element comprising the exterior of
the medical robot, probably in the form of
diamond or diamondiod nanocomposites.
Some other elements such as sulfur,
hydrogen, glucose, oxygen, fluorine,
nitrogen, silicon etc. will be used for
specific purposes in nanoscale gears and
other components depending on its task [4].
The first useful application of such
nanomachines will be in medical industry
where they can be used to detect and destroy
tumor cells. The main advantage of
nanorobots is their size. These nanorobots
will mainly have biomedical engineering
applications where nanorobots inside the
body will provide significant improvements
in diagnosis and the treatment of disease.
Fig. 1 Nanorobot
HOW NANOROBOTS WILL WORK?
Scientists are considering three main aspects
when looking at nanorobots moving inside
the body i.e. navigation, power, and how
nanorobot will be moving through the
human blood vessels.
1. NANOROBOTS NAVIGATION
While the greatest revolution in the history
of medical sciences is being planned,
studied and a lot of research for the same is
going on, the important point of realization
which arises for the scientists is that how the
Nanorobots will navigate and controlled
inside the human body. Most of the options
which are being looked at can be divided
into either External Systems or onboard
systems.
In external navigation systems, there can be
a variety of different methods that can be
used to control or navigate a nanorobot
inside the human body.
One of these is to use ultrasonic signals to
detect and control the movement of
Nanorobots. The doctors can use special
equipment having ultrasonic sensors which
will detect the pulses of ultrasonic signals
being emitted by the Nanorobots, and hence
doctors could maneuver the nanorobot to the
right part in the human body. Other method
that can be used is by injecting a radioactive
dye into the bloodstream of patient; post this
doctors can use fluoroscope to track the
moving dye.
Other methods which can be used to detect
the nanorobotic movement can be using
MRI, X rays, Microwaves or heat. Currently
we have a very limited technology in using
these methods on nano sized objects and
hence it is much more likely that the future
systems would rely on other methods [13].
Internal Sensors or onboard systems are also
useful in the navigation of a nanorobot. A
nanorobot can be equipped with a chemical
sensor, which will detect and follow the trail
of chemicals to reach the right location in
the patient’s body.
2. POWERING THE NANOROBOT
As in the navigation system, powering
systems are also being looked into through
both internal and external power sources.
The designs developed till time include a
small power source onboard the robot itself
while some others rely on the patient’s own
body as a source of generating the power.
Also, there are some designs where the robot
would use the forces outside of patient’s
body to obtain the power [13].
One option is the robot using the chemicals
found in the bloodstreams to create power.
The robot can hold small supply of
chemicals that can create power when
contacted with the chemicals present in the
bloodstream through a chemical reaction.
Secondly the nanorobots can use the
patient’s body heat to create power through
seebeck effect. Another source of power can
be the development of tiny batteries, but not
of much use because they supply very small
amount of power, and hence only a fraction
of the power required by nanorobot can be
fulfilled through the batteries.
For external sources of power for a
nanorobot, scientists are of the opinion that
either a nanorobot can be tethered to the
outside world or is controlled without a
physical tether. Tethered source will need a
wire which would connect the robot & the
power source. With this, nanorobot will
move in the body effortlessly and will not
make any physical damage.
Microwaves, Ultrasonic signals or Magnetic
fields can also be used as external sources of
power where tethers are not used.
3. NANOROBOT LOCOMOTION
Considering the point that the nanorobot is
not designed to float passively in the
bloodstream or is not tethered to any outside
source, it will need a means of propulsion to
work inside the body. Also, as it will have to
travel against the flow of blood, the
propulsion system must be strong for its
size, keeping in mind that the system must
be able to move inside the body without
causing any physical damage to the host [6].
For manipulation, the scientists use the
magnetic field which has been created
outside the patient’s body. The magnetic
field causes the robot’s arms to vibrate,
pushing it further through the blood vessels.
Another way of moving nanorobots inside a
patient’s body is by creating a vibrating
membrane. A nanorobot can generate small
amount of thrusts by alternately tightening
and relaxing tension on vibrating membrane.
This thrust can act as a viable source of
motion on the nanoscale.
ADVANTAGES
The major advantages this technology
provides are:
Small size- The upper limit of the size of
nanorobot is 3 micron so that it can easily
flow in the body without blocking the
capillary flow.
Total Cure- At present, there is no
permanent medication available to cure the
cancer without any side effects. With the
invention of nanorobots, patients will get rid
of the disease.
Cost effective (if mass produced)Manufacturing by batch processing reduces
the cost even if the initial cost of
development is high.
Fully Automated Robots- Nanorobots are
fully automated robots; therefore, it will not
require any monitoring or control system for
performing the task. For example, after
injecting the nanorobots inside the human
body, they will automatically detect the
cancer tumor and after detection, it will
inject antidote in it.
Minimal or no tissue trauma- The patient
will suffers no pain in the nanorobotic
treatment in which the nanorobot only
attacks the cancer tumor [1].
s
Easily Disposable - Nanorobots disassemble
and get excreted after the completion of the
specific task. But it will not leave the body
unless their job is not done.
Less post treatment care - As it is minimally
invasive technique, therefore less post
treatment care is required [1].
Continuous monitoring and diagnosis from
the inside- Nanorobots will continuously
monitor and diagnose from the inside of
body [7]. It also provides rapid response to a
sudden change in the body. Because of this,
treatment can be started before the medical
condition escalates.
DISADVANTAGES
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The initial design cost is very high.
They will have complicated design.
Nanorobots are hard to interface,
customize and design, complex.
They should be accurate [1].
Nanorobots particles will penetrate
the living cells and can perhaps enter
the food chain [7].
APPLICATIONS OF NANOROBOTS
1. Tumor detection and treatment.
Nanorobotic development may provide
remarkable advances for early diagnosis and
treatment of cancer [1]. Nanorobots will be
able to distinguish between different types
of cells i.e. malignant and the normal cells
by checking their surface antigens.
Nanorobots with embedded chemical
biosensors can be used to perform early
detection of tumor cells inside the patient's
body.
Figure 2: Nanobot targeting tumor site
Source:Image courtesy
http://www.sciencephoto.com/media/154352/enlarge
2. Diagnosis and treatment of diabetes
Medical nanorobots helps in continuous
monitoring of the glucose levels, hence
maintaining the sugar level in the body. This
data is important as it will help doctors and
specialists to supervise and improve patient
dose and diet [5].
3. Dentistry
Nanobots play important role in different
processes involved in dentistry. Hence this
lead to the emergence of new field called
Nanodentistry [4]. Nanorobots can help in
desensitization of teeth, tissue manipulation
for the realignment and straightening of the
irregular teeth set, inducing oral anaesthesia.
They can help in preventing tooth decay,
tooth repair, generation of nanofillers and
improvement of teeth appearance, etc. [5]
4. Surgery
Surgical Nanorobots which is programmed
and guided by human surgeon could act as a
semiautonomous on-site surgeon inside the
human body. These can be introduced into
the human body through vascular system. It
can also be programmed to perform delicate
surgeries, thereby working at level
thousands of times more precise than the
sharpest scalpel. These surgical nanorobots
can also helps in cosmetic surgeries [4].
Various other functions may include
diagnosis and removal of lesion by
nanomanipulation which can be coordinated
and performed by an on board computer
[10].
5. Gene Therapy
Medical nanorobots can also help in treating
genetic diseases. This can be done by
comparing the molecular structure of
proteins and DNA found in the cell to the
known reference structures. Any desired
modifications or any irregularities can be
corrected then [9].
6. Breaking up blood clots:
Nanorobots can be useful in breaking up the
blood clots by travelling inside the body.
The robot to be used in such cases should be
small enough so that while travelling it
should not obstruct the blood flow itself,
also there is chances of loosing small pieces
inside the body which may cause more
problems and hence the robot must be able
to perform the clot breaking task without
losing the small pieces [4].
7. Gout:
The Kidneys remove different kind of blood
wastes in the human body, Gout is a
condition where in the kidney looses the
ability to remove waste from the
bloodstreams. Knees & ankle joints are the
points where the waste crystallizes and
results in severe joint pain. The Nanorobot
can break up the crystalline structure at the
joints and result in relief from the above
symptoms.
8. Breaking up kidney stones:
The Nanorobots can be inserted in urethra in
such a manner that they can have direct
access to kidney stones and then this tiny
machine can break the kidney stones [8].
9. Helping the body clot:
The clottocytes or artificial platelets are one
particular type of nanorobots which will
help the doctors in the treatment of
hemophiliacs or for the treatment of patients
having open wounds. These clottocytes can
be 1000 times faster than the body’s natural
clotting mechanism.
10. Cleaning Wounds
The Human Body which has been affected
by wounds is the most likely to get
infections. The Nanorobots can be useful in
removing debris from such wounds.
11. Remove Tar in lungs
The robots could be very useful in the
treatment of dirty lungs, wherein a micro
robot can be left inside the lungs which is
capable of moving on alveolar surfaces and
also should be capable of removing tar from
the alveoli surface and place the same in the
body where it can be disposed off by the
natural process of the body.
12. Parasite Removal:
The parasites and bacteria are small parasitic
organism which may attack the human body
and lead to several diseases [5]. A group of
Nanorobots can be left inside who would
work together to destroy all the parasites.
CONCLUSION
Nanotechnology will be the most exciting
and impactful development of the future
other than any other development that will
impact the human life and health care more
profoundly and hence it will broaden the
product
development
&
marketing
interactions between pharma, diagnostic,
healthcare and biotech industries. An
indepth analysis of many diseases is
expected out of nanomedicine which will
again allow personalized treatment for these
diseases such as diabetes and viral infections
at a molecular level. It promises a better
therapy and improved health care which
would be more cost effective and affordable
in curing diseases which has the highest
burden on the aging population such as
cancer, psychiatric diseases and other
cardiovascular diseases. Nanorobotics is
expected to provide personalized treatments
with reduced side effects & improved
efficacy which is not available today.
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