MRI-based Medical Nanorobotic Platform for the Control of Magnetic Nanoparticles and Flagellated Bacteria for Target Interventions in Human Capillaries

TLDR

Medical nanorobotics combines nanometer‑scale components with robotics to create novel diagnostic and interventional tools. The platform employs MRI feedback to guide untethered magnetic carriers, nanorobots, or magnetotactic bacteria along pre‑planned vascular paths, with successive software and hardware upgrades enhancing targeting in complex microvasculature. The system enables deep‑body targeting beyond catheterization limits, improving efficacy through real‑time navigation and allowing access to tumoral lesions within intricate microvascular networks.

Abstract

Medical nanorobotics exploits nanometer-scale components and phenomena with robotics to provide new medical diagnostic and interventional tools. Here, the architecture and main specifications of a novel medical interventional platform based on nanorobotics and nanomedicine, and suited to target regions inaccessible to catheterization are described. The robotic platform uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for feeding back information to a controller responsible for the real-time control and navigation along pre-planned paths in the blood vessels of untethered magnetic carriers, nanorobots, and/or magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) loaded with sensory or therapeutic agents acting like a wireless robotic arm, manipulator, or other extensions necessary to perform specific remote tasks. Unlike known magnetic targeting methods, the present platform allows us to reach locations deep in the human body while enhancing targeting efficacy using real-time navigational or trajectory control. The paper describes several versions of the platform upgraded through additional software and hardware modules allowing enhanced targeting efficacy and operations in very difficult locations such as tumoral lesions only accessible through complex microvasculature networks.