A team of engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States has created a fine-threaded robot that can move within the arteries of the brain, and can be controlled by magnetic field techniques.
The researchers said it is possible to develop this robot in the future and provide it with therapeutic means that allow it to dissolve clots, and deal with small tumors inside the brain.
"Strokes are the fifth leading cause of human death and a major cause of paralysis in the United States," Chan Zaw, a professor of mechanical and environmental engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told the Science Express website. "In the first 90 minutes of a stroke, survival rates are very high."
"If a device can be designed to remove the blockage within the artery during this (golden hour), it is possible to avoid permanent brain damage."
The robot's body is made of nickel-titanium, a durable and flexible material that can flex and return to its original position without causing damage to the inner arteries. The team wrapped the robot's body from the outside with a rubber paste containing magnetic particles.
The researchers also surrounded the body of the robot from the outside of hydrogel, which does not affect its magnetic properties, but it provides a high degree of fluidity and ease of movement within the human body.