A bizarre “magnetic tentacle robot” that can reach into narrow lung tubes and take tissue samples could help save lives, a new study shows.
Researchers at the University of Leeds have created a device that consists of external magnets and a “tentacle,” a thin polymer tube containing metal particles.
The so-called “tentacle” is very flexible and is only 0.07 inches (2 mm) in diameter, about twice the size of a ballpoint pen tip.
Like in a horror movie, the tentacle slowly enters the patient’s mouth or nose while they are under general anesthesia.
Driven by external magnets, it can reach the smallest bronchi in the lungs and be used for tissue sampling or cancer therapy.
The image shows a life-size model of part of the bronchial tree built from anatomical data (left) and part of the magnetic tentacle that will penetrate the patient’s lungs (right).
ROBOT WITH MAGNETIC TENTACLES
The “Magnetic Tentacle Robot” system consists of two outer arm-like magnets that autonomously move and change direction. They will act outside the body.
The system also consists of a thin “tentacle” of polymer and metal particles that radiates from a nearby vehicle, much like a rope on a ship’s cable.
Arm-like magnets move to guide the tentacle through the mouth, down the windpipe, and into the bronchial passages.
The device was developed by the STORM laboratory team at the University of Leeds, led by Prof. Pietro Valdastri.
This was published as a proof of concept in a new paper, although the team acknowledges that it may be several years before the “magnetic tentacle” technology becomes available in hospitals.
“A robot with a magnetic tentacle or a 2-millimeter catheter, whose shape can be controlled with a magnet to fit the anatomy of the bronchial tree, can reach most areas of the lung,” said Prof. Valdastri.
‘[It] will be an important clinical tool in the investigation and treatment of possible lung cancer and other lung diseases.”
The researchers made the tentacle from a series of interconnected cylindrical segments, each 0.07 inches in diameter and about 3 inches long.
The segments were made of soft elastomeric or rubber-like material and impregnated with tiny magnetic particles.
Due to the presence of magnetic particles, the interconnected segments can move under the influence of an external magnetic field.
The result is a robot that can suddenly turn left and right without interfering with anatomical structures in the lungs.
Left and right are robotic arms with two magnets that create the magnetic field needed to control the shape of the magnetic tentacle (coming from the white machine, center).
Tiny worms can sniff out lung cancer
A new study suggests tiny worms could be used to detect lung cancer.
Researchers from South Korea conducted laboratory experiments with the non-parasitic roundworm C. elegans.
They found that it snakes its way towards cancer cells by following its scent, which could make it a non-invasive way to detect and diagnose lung cancer at an earlier stage.
See also: Tiny worms can be used to detect lung cancer
Currently, doctors use an instrument called a bronchoscope to examine the lungs and airways.
The procedure involves inserting a flexible tubular instrument 0.13 to 0.15 inches in diameter through the nose or mouth into the bronchial passages.
However, due to its size, the bronchoscope can only travel as far as the upper levels of the bronchial tree.
To reach deeper into the lungs, a catheter or thin tube (about the same diameter as the command’s “tentacle”) is passed through the bronchoscope and then into the smaller lung tubes.
But doctors are limited in how they can move the bronchoscope, making it difficult to get the instrument and catheter to where they are needed.
Putting such an instrument back into place also often involves exposing the patient to X-rays and can be a technical challenge for medical personnel.
On the other hand, the robot with magnetic tentacles uses a “robotic guidance system” personalized for each patient and procedure, eliminating the need for X-rays during surgery.
The route through the bronchial tree is planned based on the patient’s preoperative lung scans and programmed into the robotic system.
The robot can reach the smallest bronchi in the lungs. Bronchial tubes allow air to move in and out of the lungs so we can breathe.
As the magnets outside the patient move, they act on the magnetic particles in the catheter segments, causing them to change shape or direction, allowing the robot to move through the lungs to the suspicious lesion.
Once at the target location, the robot is used to take a tissue sample or administer a treatment, which can ultimately lead to better treatment outcomes.
The proof of concept was based on laboratory tests using a 3D replica of the bronchial tree modeled from anatomical data.
The next phase of the study will examine the effectiveness of the device in navigating lungs taken from a dead body.
The researchers published a proof of concept in the journal Soft Robotics.
LIVING ‘ROBOFISH’ IS BUILT FROM HUMAN HEART CELLS, SWIMS AS LIKE A FISH AND CAN FORGE THE WAY FOR ARTIFICIAL HEARTS, SCIENTISTS SAY
A 2022 study shows that a living “robot fish” built from human heart cells and swimming like a fish could pave the way for artificial hearts.
Created by researchers at Harvard University, the “biohybrid” recreates the muscle contractions of the human heart to rock the tail fin from side to side.
Less than half an inch long, it’s made of plastic fins and a paper rod, but on either side there are two strips of living heart muscle cells that carry out these contractions.
Unlike previous devices, the biohybrid fish has two layers of muscle cells, one on each side of the tail fin.
When one side of the muscle cells contracts, it causes the cells on the other side to stretch.
This stretch triggers a protein that prompts them to contract, which causes another stretch, and so on.
In addition to applications in the field of robotics, scientists believe that their creation marks a step towards creating an artificial heart.
See also: Living “robot fish”, built from human heart cells, swims like a fish