A team of researchers from the University of Leeds in the U.K. has developed a new robot that mimics the creeping motion of vine plants to potentially diagnose and treat cancer.

According to its developers, the robot features magnetic skin that lets scientists control it using external magnets. The robot is reportedly maneuverable enough to accomplish an “S” bend. As such, the robot could one day be used to treat tumors in some of the deepest and most difficult-to-reach parts of the lungs.
Source: University of LeedsSource: University of Leeds

As the soft, slender so-called Vine robot moves, its developers report that it grows and can even squeeze through gaps nearly 40% thinner than their resting diameter.

To accomplish this, the tiny robot uses pneumatic pressure to grow and magnetics to steer. Its developers suggest that the Vine robot could be used to potentially improve the safety of medical procedures like diagnoses to biopsies and treatment, thereby reducing recovery times and minimizing surgical risks.

The team constructed the vine robot from a polyethylene substrate coated with a silicone layer embedded with magnetic micro-particles. The robot is magnetized when coated in silicon embedded with millions of magnetic hemicro-particles.

Once deployed to its target location, the robot could potentially be used to take a tissue sample or deliver treatment.

“This study shows that by using the trajectory planning algorithm we have devised, the dual External Permanent Magnet platform could be used to accurately control magnetic medical devices in a safe manner. We demonstrated this by navigating a soft magnetic robot through the tiny pathways of a brain phantom to the base of an aneurysm. From here, the appropriate drugs or medical devices could be deployed to treat it, or therapy could be delivered,” the researchers added.

An article detailing the Vine robot, “Vine Robots with Magnetic Skin for Surgical Navigations,” appears in the journal IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters.

To contact the author of this article, email mdonlon@globalspec.com